Turkey and Greece expand military confidence-building measures

ISTANBUL — Turkey and Greece have concluded a fresh round of talks in Thessaloniki, Greece, as part of the 2025 implementation of bilateral military confidence-building measures (CBMs), aiming to ease longstanding tensions between the two NATO members.

The delegations – comprising senior diplomats, military officers, and defense officials – reviewed ongoing CBMs agreed in previous years and discussed a roadmap for 2026.

These include military-to-military contacts, direct communication lines between defense and foreign ministers, joint disaster response exercises, language training exchanges, and environmental cooperation along the Meriç (Evros) River.

Despite both countries being NATO members, Turkey and Greece have clashed repeatedly over maritime boundaries, airspace violations, energy exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, and sovereignty claims in the Aegean.

Periodic crises have brought the two nations to the brink of military confrontation, most recently in 2020.

This week’s talks, held on April 28 and 29, were described by both sides as constructive, with the next meeting scheduled to take place in Turkey.

Cem Devrim Yaylali is a Turkey correspondent for Defense News. He is a keen photographer of military ships and has a passion for writing about naval and defense issues. He was born in Paris, France, and resides in Istanbul, Turkey. He is married with one son.

伊斯坦布尔——土耳其和希腊在希腊塞萨洛尼基结束了新一轮会谈，这是2025年双边军事建立信任措施（CBM）实施计划的一部分，旨在缓解这两个北约成员国之间长期存在的紧张关系。

由高级外交官、军官和国防官员组成的代表团回顾了前几年达成的持续信任措施，并讨论了 2026 年的路线图。

这些合作包括军事对军事的联系、国防部长和外交部长之间的直接沟通渠道、联合灾害应对演习、语言培训交流以及沿梅里奇河（埃夫罗斯河）的环境合作。

尽管土耳其和希腊都是北约成员国，但两国在海上边界、领空侵犯、东地中海能源勘探权以及爱琴海主权声索等问题上屡次发生冲突。

周期性的危机曾使两国濒临军事对抗的边缘，最近一次是在 2020 年。

本周于4月28日和29日举行的会谈被双方形容为富有建设性，下次会议定于在土耳其举行。

杰姆·德夫里姆·亚伊拉利是《防务新闻》驻土耳其记者。他热衷于拍摄军舰，并对海军和国防议题充满热情。他出生于法国巴黎，现居土耳其伊斯坦布尔。他已婚，育有一子。