Mitsotakis–Erdoğan Meeting Underway in Ankara: High-Level Cooperation Council Convened

Ankara, Wednesday 11 February 2026 — The bilateral meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is currently taking place at the Presidential Complex (commonly known as the White Palace or Beştepe) in Ankara.

The private talks between the two leaders began in the early afternoon, followed by the formal session of the 6th Greece–Türkiye High-Level Cooperation Council (HLCC), co-chaired by Mitsotakis and Erdoğan. The Council brings together senior ministers from both sides to review bilateral relations and explore avenues for cooperation in areas such as trade, energy, migration management, education, and cultural exchanges.

The agenda is expected to focus on maintaining the recent period of “calm waters” in the Aegean and advancing the so-called “positive agenda,” while core disputes—including maritime boundaries, territorial waters, continental shelf delimitation, and island demilitarisation—remain outside the scope of major breakthroughs.

Following the Council session, the two leaders are scheduled to deliver joint statements to the press at approximately 17:30 local time.

A formal dinner hosted by President Erdoğan in honour of Prime Minister Mitsotakis and the Greek delegation will conclude the day’s programme. At Erdoğan’s personal invitation, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will also attend the dinner, accompanied by Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon. The Patriarch’s participation adds a notable symbolic and religious dimension to the high-level encounter.

The visit marks the first such High-Level Cooperation Council meeting in nearly two years and comes after Mitsotakis and Erdoğan last met bilaterally on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2024. Greek government sources have described the Ankara talks as an essential mechanism for keeping communication channels open and preventing escalation in a region prone to periodic tensions.

No major announcements on contentious bilateral issues are anticipated, with both sides stressing the value of dialogue and de-escalation amid ongoing regional dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean.