Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today in a meeting in Athens.
In the joint statement after their meeting at the Maximos palace in the presence of small delegations of Greek and Turkish ministers, Mitsokakis referred to crises such as the three-year pandemic, a war in the heart of Europe that caused an energy crisis and major energy disasters, which also brought fluctuations in the relations between the two countries.
" At the same time we faced and are facing regional conflicts. But bilateral relations also suffered fluctuations. Sometimes they threatened them dangerously. This is why it is extremely important for countries to walk a more peaceful path. Greece and Turkey must seek solutions and if they are not overcome they must not automatically generate tensions and crises. In this regard, in Vilnius, we agreed to start cooperation. The roadmap we adopted included 3 levels including political dialogue and confidence building measures. We also meet 3 times in 6 months. Our country supports the facilitation of grants within the framework of the European acquis. In addition, Greece sought and secured EU approval to activate the possibility for Turks and their families to visit our 10 islands throughout the year that either have refugee facilities or have maritime links with Turkey. We do not agree on the issue of Cyprus, for us as Greece there is no solution beyond that of the United Nations and the dialogue must start from where it stopped in 2017. 100 years after the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, a declaration of friendship was signed and good neighborly relations, a relationship envisaged by Konstantinos Mitsotakis when he received the Ipectsi Grand Prize in 1997. The declaration we have signed with absolute respect for the rights deriving from the sovereignty of each country. The next step could be the approach to the continental shelf and the demarcation of the EEZ", said Mistotakis.