Dendias: Greece should be optimistic but also careful about relations with Turkey
Greece “should be optimistic but also careful and not naive” as regards Greek-Turkish relations, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has said.
“It would be wrong for Greece not to reach out a hand corresponding to that which Turkey is extending,” Dendias said in an interview with private broadcaster SKAI television, underlining that the “chances of success are few but it is our national duty to attempt it.”
“Turkey’s long-term interests converge with those of Greece and if the leadership reaches the same conclusion, this would be something positive,” he pointed out.
The minister said that there was an unofficial consensus between the two sides that could, after the elections, lead to an effort for resuming a serious dialogue in order to “find a solution to our [sole] difference.”
He also referred to his personal relations with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, whom he has known for 17 years. “I was and always will feel comfortable calling him on his mobile phone,” he said, while noting that a huge difficulty arose when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan forbade all contact after the speech given by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the US Congress.
“With a simple phone call, he ended the feeling I had that we could deal with chance events,” Dendias added. [AMNA]
