Akar: Turkey-Greece relations are very good

"Fortunately, relations are very good", said the Turkish Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar, in front of his Greek counterpart, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, who said that "steps will be taken".

In a short conversation that the two Ministers had with the Greek journalists in Antioch, immediately after the press conference, Mr. Akar said that he and Mr. Panagiotopoulos are meeting and working together, expressing the wish that, "from now on we will do more more beautiful steps for the sake of our countries”.

Nikos Panagiotopoulos said that steps will be taken, but without clarifying what kind of steps. When asked if these steps will be taken soon, the Greek Minister said that they should wait for developments after the elections.

At the joint press conference, Hulusi Akar mentioned that Turkey is hosting a Greek Defense Minister after several years, adding that Turkey and Greece are two neighboring and allied countries with strong cultural ties. As he said, the two countries have always been in solidarity and today they are experiencing yet another fine example of solidarity.

"Greece is one of the first countries that called Turkey and offered help after the devastating earthquake," said the Turkish YPAM and thanked his Greek counterpart.

"We continue our efforts to further develop our relations, knowing that there are differences. We hope that Greece and Turkey as two civilized countries can resolve their differences in the framework of good neighborliness. It will be beneficial for both countries. As neighboring countries, our friendship is as multidimensional as our differences. Our wish is not to wait for disasters to exist for communication channels. By creating an environment of permanent cooperation, we want the Aegean and the Mediterranean to become a sea of ​​friendship. Our main desire and expectation is for the people on both sides to live in security and peace,'' Hulusi Akar said.

For his part, the Greek Minister repeated "to Hulusi Akar, the Turkish government and the Turkish people, the sincere condolences of the Greek government and the Greek people for the thousands of human lives lost in the devastation caused by the earthquakes".

Greece, he said, from the first moment, responded to Turkey's request to mobilize the European aid mechanism after natural disasters. "We rushed, as neighbors, with Greek rescuers, to help in the effort to save our fellow human beings in Turkey who were affected by the earthquakes, thus expressing our support and solidarity", said Mr. Panagiotopoulos. The Greek Minister recalled the statement of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, that "we will try to support, as much as we can, Turkey to face the long-term consequences of this great humanitarian disaster". He said that “tragedies and natural disasters of this magnitude are beyond and above any problem and difference between us and could act as levers that reduce tension and thus create the conditions that facilitate communication and meetings between of the two sides&raquo?.

Mitarakis: General change of climate in Greek-Turkish

And the Minister of Immigration Notis Mitarakis, who met a little later with the Turkish Minister of the Interior, Suleiman Soylou, stated that &laquo “There is a general change in the climate in Greek-Turkish relations”, although he said that “we must always be cautious and pay attention to national interests”. However, he said that there is a human dimension, the disaster brings people closer.

Mr. Mitarakis also said that the Turkish side did not raise the issue of a fence. What he realized, as he explained, is that for Turkey at the moment the priority is to deal with the situation caused by the earthquake.

"We will continue the expansion of the fence along the entire length of the Greek-Turkish border", he said. Mr. Mitarakis.

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Source: KYPE