Question about Empire of Nicea

The Seljuk Sultan of Konya was defeated by the Mongols in 1243 and the sultanate went into a rapid decline. But the Greeks in western Asia Minor were largely unaffected. The main question is why didn't the
Greeks take advantage of the weakness of the Turks and try to win back more territory? Was this feasible at that period? Or would they have tried later, had they not re-taken Constantinople in 1261?
 
Nicaea's biggest ambition was to recover Constantinople and the Greek lands in Europe; its biggest fear: being encircled by a Latin-Turkish alliance. An encirclement which was on its way to happen before the Mongols disrupted everything.

First, Nicaea viewed the Mongols as a threat to the entire region, itself included, so it entered an alliance with the Seljuks. When the Seljuks were trashed, they also became Mongol vassals. So, for Nicaea, attacking the Seljuks at this stage would mean:
-even in the best case, a distraction from its main ambitions;
-a possible Latin-Turkish alliance, which is always bad news;
-(this is arguably the worst part...) a possible Mongol reaction against Nicaea.

Instead, Vatatzes chose to continue the friendly relations and meddle in Seljuk internal politics, thus securing that they would be dominated by a pro-Greek faction. This allows Nicaea to stop worrying about the east for a while and focus on its main goals in Europe, since the Seljuks stay friendly and even act as a sort of buffer state between them and the Mongols. Sounds great (on paper anyway), while the first option represents a great deal of risk and distraction.
 
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