To resolve their disputes, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated on Wednesday, before his trip to Athens, that Greece and Turkey should strengthen their confidence in one another and increase their collaboration on issues that both countries face in common.
“There is no problem we cannot solve through dialogue on the basis of mutual goodwill,” Erdogan said in an interview with the Kathimerini daily, which took place a day before the fifth High-level Cooperation Council (HCC) meeting between the two nations in Athens.
There have been disagreements between the neighbors and NATO partners for decades over various problems, including the beginning and ending points of their continental shelf, energy resources, overflights of the Aegean Sea, and the ethnically divided island of Cyprus. In the 1990s, they came dangerously close to starting a war.
After more than a year of tensions over energy resources and defense concerns, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reached an agreement in July to continue negotiations and take confidence-building measures. They also said they were pleased with their relatives’ new “positive climate.”.
Erdogan, who is scheduled to visit Mitsotakis on Thursday, stated that Turkey was sincerely attempting to overcome its disagreements with Greece and that Greece had come to the realization that Turkey would never refuse to offer a hand of friendship to Greece.
“I will tell him, Kyriakos, my friend, we don’t threaten you if you don’t threaten us,” Erdogan said in an interview with Kathimerini. He also stated that Athens and Ankara could solve their problems without the participation of outside parties.
He stated that collaboration could be improved in areas such as the economy, transportation, energy, and migration, all of which are areas in which Turkey needs the assistance of the European Union. He also stated that the fresh election mandate that both presidents acquired this year might assist the two nations in making constructive progress.
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