Erdogan Will Make Groundbreaking Visit to Greece Next Week

Erdogan Will Make Groundbreaking Visit to Greece Next Week
Mr. Erdogan has visited Greece before — twice as prime minister in 2004 and 2010 — and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim visited in June,
but there has not been a visit by a head of state since Turkey’s third president, Celal Bayar, made a trip in 1952.
30, 2017
ANKARA, Turkey — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey will make a groundbreaking trip to Greece next week as
the first Turkish head of state to visit the country in 65 years, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday.
Three large-scale joint projects — a border bridge, ferry connections
and a high-speed train connection — are under negotiation between the countries ahead of a cooperation meeting in February, Mr. Cavusoglu, the deputy prime minister, said.
Mr. Erdogan is scheduled to visit Greece on Dec. 7-8, Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Hakan Cavusoglu, announced this week.
Ahead of Mr. Erdogan’s visit, the Greek police arrested nine Turkish citizens suspected of links to
the extreme leftist group, the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) in Athens.
But Turkey’s relations with Europe and the United States have deteriorated as Mr. Erdogan has been moving away from the West
and its NATO allies and has made a point of looking east to Iran and Russia and the Middle East.