Greek FM lashes out at dissenters, backs Erdogan visit

By Furkan Naci Top

ATHENS

Greece's foreign minister on Friday said the Turkish president's visit last week was "a restart" for relations between the two neighboring countries.

Nikos Kotzias was speaking at the Greek parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee after some opposition lawmakers requested an explanation over Recep Tayyip Erdogan's historic visit.

"If you want to discuss Turkish-Greek relations and build a peaceful coexistence of the two states, the center of power today is Erdogan," Kotzias said, answering a question from lawmakers who had described the visit as a "fiasco" for Greece.

"We agreed to establish all channels of dialogue, including intergovernmental and exploratory talks within three months. This is a restart," the Greek minister said.

The minister also lashed out at opposition lawmakers, saying their claims were "typical extremist attitudes" which fueled ultra-nationalism and the far-right.

"A visit does not solve all the problems, but we took steps forward," he added.

Erdogan paid a historic two-day visit to Greece on Dec. 7-8, the first by a Turkish president in 65 years.