Greek PM to Turkey for historic talks

From Anthee Carassava for CNN

ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis makes an historic trip to Turkey on Wednesday, the first official visit by a high-level Greek official in nearly 50 years, in a bid to "advance the normalization of relations," a Greek official said.

The three-day visit will include talks with his Turkish counterpart on a variety of issues covering the entire range of Greek-Turkish relations, the Turkish prime minister's office said.

Some of those issues have caused tension between the two neighbors for decades, including disputes over territorial rights in the Aegean Sea.

Both Greek and Turkish military officials have ordered their respective air forces and navies to refrain from any skirmishes in the Aegean while the Greek prime minister is in Ankara.

The visit -- largely symbolic -- signals the latest bid by both countries to bolster bilateral ties despite long-standing differences, but Greek pundits are not predicting any breakthroughs on major issues.

"We are are following a strategy we hope to anchor in the future, not in the past," Karamanlis told the Greek parliament Tuesday. "There is neither optimism nor pessimism linked to this trip, just realism."

The last high-level Greek official to visit Turkey was Karamanlis' uncle, who was also the prime minister, in 1959. E-mail to a friend