Greek and Turkish Foreign ministers make statements after meeting in Athens

17:15 13/12/2013 - Πηγή: Matrix24

Following their meeting and extended talks between the two countries’ delegations at the Foreign Ministry, Venizelos said that all issues of mutual interest were put on the table, and that he briefed Davutoglou on Greece’s priorities as EU president in the first half of 2014.
He said the next meeting of the Greece-Turkey Council was set

for September 2014 in Greece, and stressed the great opportunities opening up for promoting cooperation between the two countries in several sectors such as the economy, tourism and energy, especially with initiatives on sustainable energy resources.
Turkey, he said, is prepared to sign an Agreement of Readmission to the European Union on December 16, and, referring to the issue of illegal border crossing, said that it created a security issue for both countries, noting that Greece and Turkey already had excellent cooperation on terrorism issues.
Referring to the Cyprus issue, Venizelos focused on the efforts of Cyprus Republic President Nicos Anastasiades to forge a new generation of trust-building measures and reiterated that any solution should observe United Nations resolutions and the European Union acquis and be voted on by the Cyprus people in a referendum.
The Greek foreign minister also referred to Byzantine and Ottoman monuments and said that regional and international issues would be discussed during a work lunch.
On his part, Davutoglu said Greek and Turkish relations were very positive and had led to the signing of 27 bilateral agreements between the two within four years; he also put special emphasis on the Council’s next meeting in September in Greece.
The two countries have economic exchanges worth 5 billion dollars in present terms and the target is to exceed 10 billion dollars, he said, while also mentioning that individual Turkish businessmen were signing their own agreements to do business in Greece, daily.
Davutoglu stressed the cultural relations between the two countries, saying that he visited former Constantinople residents in Paleo Faliro, and had planned to visit the Association of Imvros Islanders in the southern Athens suburb of Nea Smyrni on Friday. He invited Venizelos on a personal tour to the area of Karaman, when he will comes to Turkey again, to visit the place of origin of karamanlides, a Turkish-speaking Greek Christian minority in the Cappadocia area. Minorities act as a bridge for the two countries, he said.
Turkey, he added, is prepared for any cooperation with Greece in order to resolve difficult issues and reiterated than any discussion on the Aegean Sea be conducted under friendly terms. He also supported the acceleration of talks to resolve the Cyprus issue and claimed that Turkey has supported every effort to resolve the issue in peaceful terms.
“We attribute great significance to the Greek presidency of the EU Council,” Davutoglu added, and said that Turkey would contribute significantly to European reality.

source: ΑΜΝΑ