Minister lauds ‘spirit of consensus’ at Foreign Affairs Council meeting
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias hailed the “spirit of consensus” during a meeting of Greece’s Foreign Affairs Council, convened under the minister to discuss recent developments in Greek-Turkish relations on Friday.
“It is understandable that there should be different approaches to certain issues, but it is clear that we all recognize the challenges faced by our country and act according to the national interest,” Dendias said coming out of the briefing of parliamentary parties.
Dendias underscored the importance of the planned meeting – at Turkey’s invitation – next month with his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, saying that such a meeting could only take place under the “proper conditions.”
“It would be useful if all the officials from the Turkish side understand this and avoid statements that do nothing to help efforts to establish a climate of good neighborly relations,” Dendias said.
He added that the planned meeting stems from the revival of contacts during the Athens round of exploratory talks earlier this week.
“Greece is not afraid of dialogue,” Dendias said. “Dialogue does not mean relinquishing sovereignty and sovereign rights. We enter a dialogue precisely in order to present the rightness of our positions.”
