GREECE | Another Turkey Reset?

On 7 December 2023, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visited Greece, where he met with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The two leaders signed a series of bilateral agreements and a Declaration of Friendship (the Athens Declaration). But while the trip was hailed as a breakthrough in relations between the two countries, which have long been strained over various issues, many wonder if this is merely another in a long line of such efforts to mend relations.

Greece and Turkey - now officially known as the Republic of Turkiye - have had a long and difficult relationship. Shaped by a thousand years of history, following a series of wars in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the countries reached a peace agreement in July 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne. But while this laid the foundations for a good relationship over the next twenty years, tensions emerged in 1955 when an anti-colonial movement erupted in Cyprus, where Cypriots wanted to unite with Greece. Tensions emerged in the Aegean after the discovery of oil in the early 1970s. This led to several major crises. However, in 1999, the countries started a new process of rapprochement. But in recent years, tensions have been increasing again. And it’s against this backdrop that Erdogan’s visit has been hailed as a fresh start. But can this new spirit of cooperation last?

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*VIDEO CHAPTERS*
00:00 Introduction and Titles
00:46 Conflict and Cooperation in International Relations
01:38 Greeks and Turks in History
03:05 The Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Greece
04:58 Greek-Turkish Relations, 1923-1955
05:59 Greek-Turkish Relations and Cyprus
08:14 Greek-Turkish Disputes in the Aegean
10:13 The 1999 Greek-Turkish Rapprochement
11:54 Greek-Turkish Tensions Return
13:42 A New Start in Greek-Turkish Relations?

*SOURCES AND FURTHER READING*
President of Turkey
Prime Minister of Greece
Treaty of Lausanne | 24 July 1923
Aegean Continental Shelf Greece vs Turkey | ICJ
Davos Declaration | 1988
Athens Declaration | 7 December 2023

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- The contents of this video and any views expressed in it were not reviewed in advance nor determined by any outside persons or organisation.
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#Greece #Turkey #Türkiye

[JamesKerLindsay]

This is a very personal topic for me. My first job out of university was running an effort to try to improve Greek-Turkish relations. It was an incredible project full of ups and downs. (And I even wrote a book about it. See the link below.) However, thirty years later, we are hailing another new reset in their bilateral relations. So, will we now see an end to the perpetual cycle of crisis and cooperation between Greece and Turkey? Or is this latest effort to improve relations destined to eventually collapse? As always, let me know your thoughts and comments below.

[rideteller]

I am Turkish and i would love to have close relations with Greece i have been in Greece many times and Greeks are perfect people.

[PamirAnduril]

As a Turk, I know nothing will change but I really want to get along with our neighbors, especially with Greece. Lot of love from Turkey to our komşu

[severinoaraujo]

Dude. I'm speed running your entire channel. I have enjoyed every one of your vids so far. Thanks a lot for your work, and specially, for make in it easy to watch. I learnt a lot. Greetings from Chile

[juliajulia]

I am Turkish from Australia and all my friends even very very best friend are all Greeks ❤

[timor]

Thanks for another great video. The topic is now literally very close to home for you. Wishing your all the best. T

[tyronejoshua]

I just finished reading professor Ker-Lindsay's book "Secession and State Creation: What Everyone Needs to Know"
I really recommend it. It is a really fascinating book to read.

[noterrormanagement]

As a person living in greece this is a move towards the right step, although i can't shake off the feeling that this is all just formalities where each side supposedly shows friendship and then each go their own way again, ergo nothing will change in the long run.

[Diakos-]

This approach has nothing to do with friendship. Turkey approaches Greece only because they want the F-16 fighters and other military equipment, cause of the sanctions due to the installation of the S-400 System and other unfriendly actions.

Most probably the USA pushed Erdogan to work on his punch list.
Greece is only one topic on this list.

[dekapemptou]

Erdogan and agreement. Words that should never be used together.

[skeetrix]

I didn't know about that trip, thanks prof! it would be so wonderful if the cyprus issue could finally be resolved, it's so sad what those people have had to live with for the last decades, at no fault of their own.

[angryvoices]

as a greek, to me it seems like same bs different day, nothing will change,

[ConstanTime]

As a Greek it’s self evident who I think is right on this so I won’t say anything about the situation. I will say however that this is the best analysis on the issue on YouTube so far. Great work Doctor!

[mariosathens]

Fun fact: In 1987 crisis the Turkish Leader Ozal ordered Turkish oil ships to sail to the Aegean sea. The Greek Leader Papandreou warned that he would sink any Turkish ship in the region. Both armies mobilized to the borders. That period of time Greece had its armies divided in the Greco-Bulgarian and Greco-Turkish borders because Bulgaria was a member of the Warsaw pact.
In the following days the Greek Leader sent his FM to Bulgaria in order to find out Bulgaria's intentions in a case of a Greco-Turkish war. The Bulgarian Leader Zivkov responded "tell to my Greek friend and collegue that Greece has nothing to fear from Bulgaria and he can relocate his armies to the Greco-Turkish borders" something that paved the way for Greece to transfer much more troops from the Greco-Bulgarian borders to the Greco-Turkish borders.
A few hours later, new info arrived, the Bulgarian Leader ordered the Bulgarian troops to move from the Greco-Bulgarian borders to the Bulgarian-Turkish borders. After a few hours the Turkish Leader Ozal ordered his ships to return back to their ports and the crisis ended.

[andrewsarantakes]

Excellent! Thanks for covering this topic is a great balance way. There will always be a natural tension between Greece & Turkey, but I believe that liberal political leadership in Turkey would produce a more conducive environment. Thanks for the great content!

[alibeyberlin]

I have just watched the First five Minutes and I have to say i am satisfied by the objektive summary of history.

[selatinsofta]

May peace blossom between Greece and Turkey. The Aegean and Mediterranean, cradles of Western civilization, are among the world's most breathtaking landscapes. Peace would not only benefit Greeks and Turks, but also ripple outwards, fostering cooperation, sharing, and kindness across the globe.

[XerxesGammon]

It's ironic that Turkey calls Israel occupiers while they occupy Cyprus.

[mariosathens]

As a Greek i really hope for peaceful relations between Greece and Turkey (since i have met many Turks in my visits there and they are wonderful people) but i doubt about it..
i believe that Erdogan just wants to buy some time until the USA sign a deal with him for the sale of new F-16 that Turkey wants but the American Congress rejects using as an excuse, among others, the overflies of Turkish F-16 above internationally recognized Greek islands.
In general, when it comes to "maritime issues" Greece and Turkey have totally different point of view. For Greece, as it happens with all states with islands, "islands matters on maritime rights". For other countries with a few islands like Turkey, "Size matters". Sooner or later these "maritime issues" as well as the Cyprus occupation issue will rise again.
Finally, Erdogan says that he will not threat Athens with ballistic missiles IF Athens does not threat Turkey. For Turkey "threat by Greece" is concidered the American bases in Greece for example, . All day the Turkish Media talk about the American bases in Greece describing it as a major a threat for Turkey. Erdogan himself talk to the media asking the reason of American bases so close to the Turkish borders (American base in Alexandroupoli port-city etc)

[tongdijamir]

Systematic presentation, easy to understand and hope that these two nation will serve as a lesson around the world.