ABSTRACT

Relations at many different levels between Greeks and Turks and dialogue between different groups never really came to a full stop even at the worst of times. Businessmen conducted their affairs and quite often acted as intermediaries between political actors. Municipalities organized get-togethers. Many Greek citizens, either originating from Turkey or from different parts of Greece itself, visited their neighbour after the lifting of the visa requirement for Greek citizens in 1985. At the darkest periods of the relations there were many attempts, mostly inconclusive, to have a sustained political or conflict resolution venue that was not official. Although there always remained a level of communication, dialogue and constructive engagement between a wide range of groups and individuals, some meaningful and some not, no opening was able to generate its own sustainable momentum. In the prevailing atmosphere of insecurity, mistrust and intimidation that defined the 1990s, particularly after the Imia/Kardak crisis of 1996, many concerned Greeks and Turks from different walks of life looked for a workable ‘second-track’ diplomatic route.