ISTANBUL, 11 June 2006 — Turkish and Greek foreign ministers yesterday agreed on new confidence-building measures after two of their jet fighters collided over the Aegean Sea. Among them are the creation of a telephone hot line between the army chiefs of the two countries and joint troop exercises — steps the two sides hope will help prevent a repeat of such flash point incidents between the historic enemies. The NATO allies came close to war as recently as 1996. They have improved ties but have not resolved territorial disputes in the Aegean and over the divided island of Cyprus.
Greek Foreign Minister Doka Bakoyanni and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul unveiled the package of measures after a meeting in Istanbul during Bakoyanni’s first visit to Turkey. A new border bridge will be built and a committee established for cooperation against floods on a river dividing the two countries. Gul said the Turkish army chief had invited his Greek counterpart to Turkey, and Turkish and Greek armies would hold joint exercises on how to deal with natural disasters. “The first exercise is planned to be held in Turkey in November 2006,” he said.
Turkish and Greek F-16 jets collided over the Aegean Sea last month, sparking mutual recriminations and a warning from Athens that Ankara’s drive to join the European Union could suffer unless it changed its stance on sensitive issues. Bakoyanni said that a moratorium on military exercises on the Aegean Sea had been extended to last one month longer, to June 15-Sept 15, instead of July 1-Sept 1. The coasts of the two countries are crowded by tourists in summer.
Long at odds over Cyprus, territorial and human rights issues, the two countries have seen relations improve in recent years with Athens declaring its backing for Ankara’s EU bid. “Political rapprochement is a directive given to us by our peoples,” Bakoyanni said, in remarks translated from Greek into Turkish. She also said the increase in commercial relations between the neighbors was noticeable.
Bakoyanni said Greece supported Turkey’s EU accession as a strategic choice, but expected Ankara to fulfill the EU’s accession criteria like other candidates. Turkey has refused so far to recognize the Greek-Cypriot government of the divided island of Cyprus, a member of the EU.
Commerce and tourism between Greece and Turkey are booming, with bilateral trade expected to more than double to 5 billion euros in the next two years. Greece’s largest bank National Bank in April purchased Turkey’s Finansbank for $2.77 billion, a record Greek-Turkish deal. Greece’s Eurobank agreed to buy a majority stake in Turkey’s Tekfenbank.
The two countries dispute the extent of each other’s territory in the Aegean and the space above it, and the rivalry has triggered several tense standoffs in the past decade, one that pushed them to the verge of armed conflict.
