Athens (dpa) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived Thursday in Greece to discuss migration and Turkey‘s relations with the European Union, as the two neighbours and former foes seek to improve ties and economic links.Managing the flow of refugees and migrants - who cross from Turkey to Greek islands in the Aegean as their gateway to Europe - is expected to be at the core of Erdogan‘s talks with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.Turkey has clamped down on many people smuggling networks over the past 18 months.Cyprus, the island-state divided between a Turkish north and Greek south, is also expected to be on the agenda. The issue brought the neighbours to the brink of war in 1974. Recent peace talks collapsed.In an interview with Greek television broadcaster Skai on Wednesday, Erdogan urged for an overhaul of a treaty regulating the maritime border and island territories in the Aegean.During his two-day trip, the Turkish president is also expected to repeat his demand for the extradition of eight soldiers who defected to Greece by helicopter after a failed coup in July 2016. Greek courts have refused to hand the soldiers over, saying that they may not receive a fair trial.In spite of these issues, the NATO allies have been working to strengthen relations in recent years. Erdogan visited Athens, then as prime minister, in 2010 and Tsipras went to Ankara in 2015.Greek authorities deployed around 3,000 police to Athens for Erdogan‘s visit and banned all public demonstrations in the centre of the city.
