Reuters. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan sounded an upbeat note on the future of Greco-Turkish relations as he arrived in Athens on Thursday (December 7) in a visit both countries hope can reboot ties after years of friction.
"It will be much more beneficial for the future if we look at things from a glass half-full perspective," said Erdogan, during a meeting Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Greece and Turkey, neighbours and NATO allies, have been at odds for decades over issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, overflights of the Aegean Sea, and ethnically-split Cyprus.
They reached the brink of war in the 1990s and over the past years they have argued over energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, defence issues, migration and the acquisition of fighter jets, which paused diplomatic talks.
Relations improved after Greece sent aid to Turkey following a devastating earthquake in February. Both Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' re-elections this year also eased political pressure and allowed them to put rivalry aside.
Erdogan was welcomed by Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis at Athens International Airport, ahead of the fifth Greece-Turkey High-level Cooperation Council. It is his first visit to Greece in six years.
