“Our similarities are often greater than our differences. And our neighborhood not only brings challenges, but also great opportunities for cooperation,” emphasized the Turkish ambassador in Athens Chagatai Ertsiyes during tonight’s event for the 102nd anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.
Referring to Greek-Turkish relations, he said that Turkey and Greece are more than neighbors, they are two nations connected geographically, historically, culturally and humanly. He noted that over the past three years, dialogue channels have been revitalized, high-level contacts have increased and several meetings have been held. He spoke of “real progress in the field of trade, investment, tourism and culture” and said that last year, more than 1.2 million Turkish citizens visited Greece, while over 700,000 Greeks traveled to Turkey and this “positive trend continues this year.”
He added: “I am confident that maintaining this momentum will yield even greater mutual benefits and foster a constructive climate for addressing our long-standing problems.
In that spirit, we look forward to welcoming the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Turkey for the next meeting of the High Level Cooperation Council”.
Finally, he referred to the recent statements of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who said that Greece and Turkey can make peace in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean possible and that all outstanding issues between the two countries can be resolved through honest and meaningful dialogue, based on international law and good neighborliness.
“As close neighbors and allies in NATO, our real interest lies in cooperation, not confrontation,” said Mr Erciyes.
It should be noted that after several years of service at the Turkish embassy in Athens, the head of the press office, Doigou Leloglou, is leaving for Ankara.
Present at the event of the Turkish embassy were, among others, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexandra Papadopoulou, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and ND MP Dora Bakoyannis, as well as foreign and Greek diplomats and military personnel.
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