FM asks Turks to stop hostility
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis has described a spike in Turkish violations of Greek air space as «unnecessary provocations» and has called on Turkish authorities to work with Greece as «allies in NATO and hopefully partners within the EU.» In an interview with English-language Hurriyet Daily News, published over the weekend, Bakoyannis said that Turkish aggression was pointless. «Having Turkish aircraft fly at 300 meters over the rooftops of Greek islanders’ homes will not change the status in the Aegean,» Bakoyannis said. «I choose cooperation over confrontation,» she added, stressing that Athens «is the most sincere supporter of Turkish accession to the EU.» Meanwhile, sources said that Bakoyannis is among those listed by the Economist magazine, along with her Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, as possible candidates for an EU foreign minister.