Greek press hails talks between Greek premier, Turkish president

A recent meeting between Greece's prime minister and Turkey's president went beyond expectation, Greek media outlets reported on Monday.

In its coverage of Kyriakos Mitsotakis's visit to Istanbul, where the Greek premier was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday, the Ta Nea daily asserted that there had been an obvious improvement in relations between the two leaders.

Noting that both Turkey and Greece are members of the NATO alliance and face common threats originating from Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine, the newspaper's report said the meeting took place in a very positive environment.

It also argued that such meetings could be expected to calm tensions on the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, while also opening communication channels between the two neighbors.

According to Ta Nea, Greek diplomatic sources hold the position that stability in Southeastern Europe would benefit all parties.

Eleftheros Tipos, another daily, took note of the "positive steps" between Athens and Ankara, highlighting that the two leaders' meeting took place in an encouraging atmosphere.

If this trend continues, delegations from the two countries may meet in April to discuss confidence-building measures and a High-Level Cooperation Council meeting can convene again in Thessaloniki in the fall, said the report.

It also underlined that Athens saw the meeting as having been held between two allies after a long time.

In another report, the Kathimerini newspaper said that despite their differences, there is space for Greece and Turkey to improve their ties with each other.

It underlined that better relations would be in the interests of the entire Eastern Mediterranean region.

The dishes served to the Greek premier also attracted the press's attention, with private broadcaster SKAI TV giving viewers a recipe for the roasted chickpea halva they had for dessert.