Athens-Greece (Athens News) ? THE HISTORIC May 14-15 visit to Athens by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan engenders hopes within the Greek government and Washington of a new rapprochement along the lines of 1999?s ?earthquake diplomacy?. Main opposition New Democracy and rightwing Laos, as well as some mainstream analysts, fear that Turkey may try to exploit Greek economic and political weakness to advance its territorial claims. Amid the feel-good fanfare, the first ever joint Greek-Turkish cabinet meeting will attempt to replicate the bilateral low-level agreements reached when Papandreou was foreign minister from 1999 to 2004. In line with a proposal Erdogan made to Papandreou last autumn, 10 Turkish ministers will arrive on May 14 to discuss possible areas of cooperation with their Greek counterparts at a meeting chaired by the two PMs. Search for ideas Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas, who laid the groundwork for the trip with his Turkish counterpart, has asked ministers to submit proposals for cooperation.The two countries? ministers of economy and finance, foreign trade, European affairs, transport, public order, energy, education, transport, education, culture, tourism and environment will exchange notes on possible areas of common interest. A Turkish push to abolish the visa for Turkish tourists is on the agenda, though Greek sensitivities on the issue are heightened.A recent proposal by the prefect of Chios that Turkish citizens be allowed to settle on Greek islands with ageing and dwindling populations, created an intense media backlash, given Ankara?s persistent territorial claims in the region. Thanos Dokos, the director-general of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, told the Athens News that Greece should utilise Erdogan?s visit to reduce tensions, but he expressed reservations about the prospects of reaching geopolitical agreements on the Aegean any time soon.Noting Greek economic weakness and the imbalance of power between Greece and Turkey, he said, ?You cannot secure the best possible agreement with current conditions.? Cyprus dilemma Dokos is also concerned about the prospects of an international conference on Cyprus in the autumn which is being pushed by Britain and the US.?Greece cannot very well block that and as a guarantor power cannot act as a mere observer. Athens must have positions and try to play a role,? he said. Turkey feels the model of joint cabinet meetings has been tried and tested with neighbours like former rival Syria, as well as Spain, Italy and Russia. In Greek public opinion, where the neo-Ottoman model of regaining influence in former Ottoman territories has engendered deep concerns, it will clearly take much more to establish goodwill. Many hope that the prospect of economic cooperation could complement diplomatic efforts. About 60 top businessmen from Istanbul and 30 more from Izmir - representing areas from banking and shipbuilding to energy and services - will be accompanying Erdogan. (See interview with Selim Egeli at left).Still, from a political standpoint, what does not come to the fore may be the most important. The lingering dispute over the Aegean is being handled behind the closed doors of exploratory talks, the last session of which came a week before Erdogan?s visit.Assessment: The Turkish Prime Minister, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made a concession by saying to the State administrators ?behave very polite to the Turkish minorities when they come to your office?. This compromise has two meanings: the first one is that we accept that there is bad behaving to the minorities and the second one is that the Greek is likely encouraged to want more as they had done before regarding their Megola Thesis. I think we are still one of the great nations of the world. So there is no need to give concessions to any nation in order to improve our relationship. The Basak Newspaper, Ali ÖZKAN, Osmaniye-Turkey