FM says Athens-Ankara relations are key for EU-Turkish ties
Good relations between Greece and Turkey are a necessary condition for the improvement of Euro-Turkish ties, Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said on Saturday at the informal Gymnich meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“Greece has always been in favor of Turkey’s European course. It is in the interest of both the EU and the stability of the wider Eastern Mediterranean region,” he said. “Relations between Greece and Turkey have recently improved,” he added, while, on the other hand, he stressed that it must be constantly demonstrated that there is also a willingness on the part of Turkey to improve Euro-Turkish relations.
Turkey, he said, should acknowledge the issues that are of high sensitivity for EU member states as a matter of course. Regarding Cyprus, he noted that “there must be tangible evidence that there is a willingness to continue the dialogue on the Cyprus issue, on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions.”
“Greece will be present in this process,” he emphasized. The meeting addressed the crisis in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and EU-Africa and EU-Turkey relations.
