The two nations have maintained a correct but tense relationship for nearly a century, only narrowly avoiding hostilities following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and confrontations over Aegean islets in 1987 and 1996. Lately, they have agreed to disagree on fundamental issues while pursuing cooperation on economic, social and cultural matters. This process has now been jeopardised by Erdogan’s interview to a private Greek television network calling for revision of the 1923 treaty that demarcated the Aegean border between the two nations and governed the rights of the respective Turkish and Greek minorities.
The pipeline to bring Caspian gas to Europe will go ahead, but disputes over hydrocarbon resources in the southern Aegean may escalate.
Ill-will could disrupt recent growth in mutual tourism, particularly from Turkey to Greek islands in the eastern Aegean.
The eruption of a ‘national’ issue will divert political attention in Greece from the country’s economic crisis.
Athens may now find it easier to push through unpopular reforms demanded by international creditors.
