Greek foreign minister seeks better ties with Türkiye for mutual benefits

ATHENS

Ahead of a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday in the Turkish capital of Ankara, top Greek diplomat George Gerapetridis stressed the mutual benefits of better ties between the two countries.

Recalling the positive climate at a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in July during a NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Gerapetritis said that he will be visiting Ankara so that he and his Turkish counterpart can lay the groundwork for the Turkish and Greek leaders’ meeting slated for later this month in New York, during the UN General Assembly.

In an exclusive interview with Anadolu, he said: “We will discuss the preparations for the Turkish-Greek High-Level Cooperation Council which will take place in December in Thessaloniki after seven years.”

Gerapetritis remarked that the “positive agenda” is a framework for boosting the economic and commercial cooperation between the countries and expansion in some other fields such as transportation, maritime, business cooperation, technology, environmental protection, and tackling natural disasters.

“Of course, the realization of the positive agenda would benefit both countries as manifested by €5.4 billion ($5.83 billion) trade volume in 2022. Also, it keeps dialogue between the countries open,” he said.

As for his dialogue with Fidan, the Greek official said they developed a very good personal relationship based on mutual understanding and openness.

Gerapetritis stressed that the regular meetings between Erdogan and Mitsotakos are not only of symbolic importance but also have substantial content.

“It is important that the messages of cooperation and mutual understanding to Greek and Turkish nations be transmitted by their leaders,” he said.

The new perspective that aims to find a resolution to the longstanding problems between the two countries should prioritize openness and confidence building, he added.

Stressing that Greece wants more intense interaction between Greek and Turkish people, Gerapetritis said the disasters both countries faced in 2023 showed that Turks and Greeks have common human interests and feelings toward each other.

“This humanity is perhaps the most important common characteristic that unites our peoples,” he said.

Erdogan and Mitsotakis met in July during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the meeting was hailed as a positive milestone by both countries.

A fresh round of talks of the Türkiye-Greece High-Level Cooperation Council is expected to be held in the Greek city of Thessaloniki in December.