Turkey and Greece: Political and Economic Relations within the Conflict Circumstances (1999-2017)

The author distinguishes four stages of bilateral relations between Turkey and Greece in 1999-2017: 1) the “thaw” of 1999-2003; 2) the period of the growing cooperation with attempts to resolve the Cyprus issue in 2003-2009; 3) the next one encompassing 2009-2014, when efforts to build a contractual-cum-institutional basis for the expansion of relations took place: 4) and that of worsening the political relations in 2014-2017. After analyzing these phases, the author concludes that during the whole of study period, Ankara and Athens failed to improve their bilateral relations to the point of overcoming negative historical accounts and ethnic stereotypes. Despite the constant increase of the trade volume, at the political level there were a number of problems hindering the intensification of the bilateral dialogue. The main ones are the Cyprus issue and Turkey’s claims on the Greek continental shelf. The solution of these issues is obligatory for the further development of bilateral political relations as well as for the maintenance of the security in the region.