After about two years, Athens and Ankara are set to resume talks on Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) on Friday, however recent political developments in both countries suggest that it is unlikely that any significant decisions will be taken.
On of the main issues to be discussed will be firing ranges in the Aegean Sea, where the Turkish side appears to be uncompromising. This became clear to the Greek side, after Turkey’s recent attempt to seize large areas of the Aegean via a NOTAM, which it was quickly forced to withdraw.
Greece has reserved three areas in the Aegean as firing ranges, with Turkey objecting to two of them on account that they are reserved for a very long time. Ankara has stated that a satisfactory proposal would be to mutually withdraw reservations for firing ranges, however this is unlikely to be accepted by the Greek political and military leadership.
Provided that the political will exists though, solutions could be found to benefit both sides, such as Greece reducing the reservation time of its firing ranges. Such a concession though would require equivalent good will gestures from Turkey, such as its Navy ending provocative cruises into Greek territorial waters.
With Greece focusing on its financial concerns and Turkey preparing for general elections in June, it appears that there will not be any in-depth discussions or critical decisions to be made on Friday.
