Turkish FM meets Muftis of Komotini and Xanthi

Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Greece on Sunday.

Cavusoglu's first stop was the northeastern Greek region of Thrace, near the Turkish border, home to many members of the Muslim community.

There, he met the Mufti of Komotini, Ibrahim Serif, and the Mufti of Xanthi, Ahmet Mete.

The private visit comes a day ahead of his official visit to Athens where he's scheduled to hold formal talks with his counterpart Nikos Dendias.

Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads for decades over a long series of issues, including territorial rights in the Aegean, maritime and aviation boundaries, and minority rights.

After an escalation of tension last year, the two countries have sought to improve ties, and Dendias visited Turkey in mid-April for talks with Cavusoglu.

However, a joint news conference after that meeting descended into a rare public exchange of accusations, with the ministers trading barbs and listing their respective grievances.

One of the grievances Cavusoglu cited was about the Muslim minority in Greece, which Greece recognizes as a religious minority but Turkey refers to as an ethnic Turkish minority.