Kastellorizo, or Megisti, known as Meis in Turkish, a Greek island about 1 nautical mile off the Turkish coast, will allow Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to observe Türkiye with the naked eye and test the waters for room to improve relations with Türkiye and the potential for tensions in the Aegean Sea.
The two countries have been at odds over Aegean rights in recent months, with tensions escalating over Türkiye’s declaration of marine parks, including one near Kaş opposite Kastellorizo, and Mitsotakis’ warning that Greece may consider expanding its territorial waters in a move that could challenge Türkiye’s maritime borders.
“I think they’d hear us from Greece if we shout from Kaş,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told journalists earlier this month when asked how Türkiye would respond to Greece’s arming of the Aegean islands. At the time, it was unclear whether Mitsotakis would attend events marking the island’s liberation from Italian occupation in 1943 during World War II.
Although Türkiye and Greece are pursuing rapprochement after decades of hostilities, Greece’s expanding alliances, particularly with Türkiye’s rivals, and threatening rhetoric by Greek politicians have the potential to undermine efforts to improve ties. In parallel with Türkiye’s strengthening of its defense systems and establishment of new alliances, such as the Mecca pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Greece seeks to gain the upper hand. This was the case with a major defense deal signed with Türkiye’s archrival Israel last month. Mitsotakis, meanwhile, is conducting diplomacy with both rivals and friends of Türkiye. He has stepped up diplomatic contacts with Egypt and France and is expected to visit Saudi Arabia in October. He was in Egypt this week, where he held talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi alongside Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides.
