Turkish president hopes the NATO allies and neighbours will mend relations regardless of deep-rooted variations.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Greece in an effort to fix strained relations between the neighbouring NATO allies and open what he known as a “new period” in relations after years of hostility.
Greece and Turkey have been at odds for many years over points together with the place their continental cabinets begin and finish, vitality assets, overflights of the Aegean Sea, and ethnically break up Cyprus.
On Thursday, the 2 international locations signed a joint declaration to pursue good neighbourly relations.
“Geography and historical past have dictated that we stay in the identical neighbourhood … often in confrontation. However I really feel a historic duty to utilise this chance to carry the 2 states aspect by aspect, simply as our borders are,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis mentioned after assembly Erdogan.
Earlier, Erdogan instructed Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou: “I consider that the Turkey-Greece strategic cooperation assembly will result in a brand new period” in relations, including that “we should be optimistic, and this optimism will probably be fruitful sooner or later”.
“It is going to be far more useful for the longer term if we have a look at issues from a glass half-full perspective,” Erdogan mentioned.
“If we think about what is occurring round us, it’s vital in all probability greater than ever that Greece and Turkey work collectively to strengthen prosperity, safeguard peace and stability and respect for worldwide regulation,” Sakellaropoulou replied.
Erdogan mentioned he aimed to just about double bilateral commerce quantity to $10bn (9.3 billion euros) from $5.5bn presently.
Greece and the European Union additionally hope to replace their 2016 migration cope with Ankara.
Greek Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis this week mentioned the 2 international locations’ coastguards had been cooperating easily on migration in previous months and steered the potential of an settlement with Turkey to station a Turkish officer on the Greek island of Lesbos, and a Greek officer on the western Turkish port of Izmir.
Thursday’s talks are anticipated to additionally talk about the Israel-Hamas war, a contentious level on the agenda as Erdogan has proven no signal of abandoning his help of the Hamas group, whereas Mitsotakis has made a transparent distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian folks.
Points which have introduced Greece and Turkey to the brink of battle 5 instances in as many many years are anticipated to remain off the agenda.
Erdogan’s last visit to Athens, in December 2017, was a catastrophe. He and then-Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos argued over the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, which set the borders between the 2 international locations.
Later, Erdogan and then-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras traded accusations concerning the division of Cyprus. Erdogan blamed the Greek aspect for 2 failed rounds of talks to reunify the island in 2004 and 2017.