The meeting was hosted by Greece’s defense ministry and attended by ambassadors, senior military officers and other officials from both countries. The talks reportedly took place in a positive atmosphere, with the next meeting scheduled to be hosted by Turkey.
The Greek delegation was led by Amb. Theocharis Lalakos, while Turkey’s delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay.
The confidence-building process is part of a broader effort to preserve the diplomatic rapprochement launched by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, formalized in the December 2023 Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighborliness.
Previous rounds have alternated between the two countries. A meeting in Izmir in October 2025 reviewed measures implemented that year and established the programme for 2026, following talks in Thessaloniki in April 2025. Another round was held in Istanbul in November 2024.
The latest meeting follows the sixth Greece-Turkey High-Level Cooperation Council, held in Ankara on Feb. 11, 2026, where the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining communication channels and preventing unnecessary sources of tension.
The confidence-building talks are distinct from political dialogue between the two governments and discussions on their bilateral disputes. Their focus is on practical measures and activities intended to reduce the risk of misunderstandings and unintended escalation between the two countries’ armed forces.
