Mitsotakis and Erdogan signed a declaration of friendship and good neighborliness

The text of the joint declaration of friendship and good neighborliness signed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting has been made public.

More specifically, the text of the declaration, in particular, emphasizes that both parties undertake “to refrain from any statements, initiatives or actions that may undermine or discredit the letter and spirit of this declaration or jeopardize the maintenance of peace and stability in their region.”

“The parties will endeavor to resolve any dispute arising between them amicably, through direct consultations between themselves or by other means of mutual choice, as provided in the Charter of the United Nations,” – the document says.

Declaration of Friendship and Good Neighborliness

Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President of the Turkish Republic Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, representing their governments, chaired the 5th meeting of the High Cooperation Council between the Hellenic Republic and the Turkish Republic on December 7, 2023 in Athens in the spirit of goodwill and cooperation,

• Recognizing the renewed will to cooperate between the governments of the two countries,
• Emphasizing that ties between the two neighboring countries have the potential to significantly enhance the prosperity and dynamism of the region,
• Emphasizing the need to continue to work together for the benefit of both societies in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual trust,
• Seeking to strengthen bilateral relations through existing institutional mechanisms,
• Emphasizing that, in order to strengthen good neighborly relations, both parties, without prejudice to their respective legal positions, will contribute to strengthening the spirit of solidarity in the face of current and future challenges,
• Emphasizing that in order to promote this positive atmosphere and agenda, both sides will encourage exchanges of results-oriented visits at all levels,
• Recalling that among the fundamental purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and the generally accepted principles of international law are the preservation of international peace and friendly co-operation among States,
• Determined to promote friendly relations, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and understanding, and to resolve all disputes among themselves by peaceful means, in accordance with international law,
• Emphasizing the importance of effective communication channels and mechanisms at all levels for the successful management of their bilateral relations, with particular emphasis on avoiding conflict situations and potential escalation,
• Emphasizing that both sides will approach their relations with the aim of expanding economic cooperation and deepening people-to-people ties, thereby promoting prosperity and peaceful coexistence of the two neighboring peoples, further emphasizing that to this end, in light of the significant progress made in advancing the positive agenda day on economic and trade issues through a joint action plan, both sides will explore additional areas of cooperation.

The parties agreed on the following:

The parties agree to conduct ongoing constructive and meaningful consultations based on the following components:

(a) Political dialogue: on issues of mutual interest.

(b) Positive agenda, within the framework of an expanded joint plan of action, including measures of mutual interest in areas such as business economy, tourism, transport, energy, innovation, science and technology, agriculture, environment, social welfare and health, youth, education and sport, as well as in any other field by mutual agreement, with the aim of achieving meaningful and concrete results, constantly streamlining and updating the agenda in a structured manner and new issues.

(c) Confidence-building measures, including measures in the military field that will help eliminate unfounded sources of tension, as well as the risks arising from them,

The Parties undertake to refrain from any statements, initiatives or actions that may undermine or discredit the letter and spirit of this declaration or jeopardize the maintenance of peace and stability in their region.

The Parties will endeavor to resolve any disputes arising between them amicably, through direct consultations between themselves or other means of their mutual choice, as provided in the Charter of the United Nations.

This declaration is not an international agreement binding on the parties under international law. Nothing in this declaration should be construed as conferring on the parties any legal rights or obligations.

Done at Athens on December 7, 2023, in two copies, each in Greek, Turkish and English, all texts being equally authentic. In the event of any dispute regarding interpretation, the English text will prevail.

What Megaros Maximus says about the text of the declaration

Commenting on the text below, government sources say the following:

• A particularly important text because for the first time, Greece and Turkey – with the signatures of the Prime Minister of Greece and the President of Turkey – are committed to relations of friendship and good neighborliness, and to “calm waters”.
• In particular, the declaration emphasizes the importance of effective communication channels at all levels and emphasizes the need to avoid conflict situations and potential escalation.
• In addition, the declaration defines the principles and milestones of the Greek-Turkish dialogue and contacts based on three axes that were agreed upon during the meeting of the Prime Minister with the Turkish President in Vilnius last July: political dialogue (on issues of mutual cooperation), interest including search contacts, a positive agenda (which will be constantly updated), confidence-building measures (including measures to reduce “unfounded sources of tension and the risks arising from them”).
• This is a declaration of intent in which Turkey is also committed to the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, the principles of international law and friendly cooperation between states.
• There is a clear reference to the obligation to avoid statements and actions that undermine the spirit and letter of the declaration or jeopardize peace and stability in the region.
• The neighboring country is committed to resolving any dispute arising with Greece amicably, either through direct consultation with our country or other means of mutual choice, as provided for in the Charter of the United Nations.
• The Athens Declaration does not cancel the legal positions of the two countries.

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