(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) A new impetus for Greek-Turkish relations was given yesterday following a letter by Prime Minister George Papandreou addressed to his Turkish counterpart, responding to prior correspondence between the two leaders.
.jpg)
The Greek side proposes the launch of a series of talks on the issue of the continental shelf, within a specific time limit and the option for both sides to resort to the International Court of Justice in The Hague in case of a dead-end.
Papandreou deems the Turkish proposal of establishing a High-level Council of Cooperation important and invites Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pay an official visit to Greece, sometime before summer, in order to set a time framework.
Moreover, the Greek Premier highlights the need for de-escalating tension over the Aegean Sea and stresses that military activity in the area must be avoided since it jeopardizes security and fuels tension. Referring to the pressure exercised on bilateral relations due to immigration flows’ movement, Papandreou reiterates the necessity for Turkey to abide by the Greek-Turkish Readmission Protocol (2001).
The premier concludes by expressing Greece’s support for Turkey’s European perspective, provided that the latter honours its obligations towards the Greek minority in Turkey and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Greece-Turkey Bilateral Relations & Greek-Turkish Rapprochement
[Photo from Papandreou’s visit to Istanbul, Turkey, October, 2009]
Filed under: Cyprus, Economy, Energy, European Union, Government, Greece, Greek Prime Minister, Greeks Abroad, history, Immigration, Infrastucture, International Relations, Politics, Religion, Turkey | Tagged: activity, Aegean, Affairs, Bilateral, continental, Cooperation, correspondence, Council, Court, Current Affairs, de-escalating, Ecumenical, Erdogan, Europe, European, flows, foreign, Framework, George, Greek-Turkish, Hague, High-level, Immigration, in, Inetrnational, issue, Istanbul, πρωθυπουργός, προοπτική, πλαίσιο, στρατιωτική, συνομιλίες, σχέσεις, της, τούρκος, υποχρεώσεις, υφαλοκρηπίδα, Ένωση, Αιγαίο, Γιώργος, Διεθνές, Δικαστήριο, Επαναπροώθησης, Ερντογάν, Ελλάδα, Ελληνική, Ελληνο-Τουρκικό, Ελληνο-Τουρκικές, Εξωτερικών, Κωνσταντινούπολη, Οικουμενικό, Πρωτόκολλο, Πρόταση, Παπανδρέου, Πατριαρχείο, Συνεργασία, Τουρκία, Υπουργείο, Χάγης, ένταση, αλληλογραφία, δράση, διμερείς, επίσημη, επίσκεψη, επιστολή, εργασίας, ευρωπαϊκή, ζήτημα, ηγέτες, κυβέρνηση, μεινότητα, ομόλογος, justice, leaders, letter, Military, Minister, Ministry, minority, Movement, obligations, of, official, Papandreou, Patriarchate, perspective, Politics, Prime, proposal, Protocol, Rapprochement, Readmission, Recep, relations, sea, Security, shelf, Support, talks, Tayyip, tension, The, Turkey, Union, visit, work | Comments Off on New impetus for Greek-Turkish relations
Embassy of Greece in Poland Press & Communication Office 