ATHENS – Turbulent periods with Turkey are seen giving way to a softer, diplomatic summer with Greece so both countries won't spook tourists who are needed to bring back economies wracked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who alternates between ratcheting up tension and insisting he will order a hunt for energy in waters off Greek islands with offering negotiations, said he too wants no further provocations.

After he said that, however – following a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at a NATO meeting in Brussels – Turkey's foreign chief lashed out at Greece and said Turkey was not to blame for the jitters between the countries.

Kathimerini said the meeting started a bit awkwardly with Mitsotakis remembering how Erdogan tried to push 10,000 migrants across the land border along the Evros River in February 2020 and over the Turkish drilling plans.

But, unlike him, Erdogan was said to have not tried to be tough or raise the anxiety level as he is also seeking better relations with the United States, which is getting closer to Greece militarily as well.