As a foundation for a substantial improvement in the climate between Greece and Turkey, Greek Government Spokesman Yannis Economou described yesterday's meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a basic foundation for a positive relationship between Greece and Turkey.
During the briefing of the political editors, Mr. Oikonomou noted that the meeting of the two leaders "can be assessed as a foundation for a substantial improvement of the climate between the two sides", which, he said, "remains to be seen and confirmed in the coming period."
According to the briefing of Mr. Oikonomou, the mood during the lunch was very good, with the two leaders expressing their agreement "on the need to lower the rhetorical tone."
"ince the major problems, new challenges and new security landscape shaped by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is in the interest of both sides to have stability in the Southeastern Mediterranean. In such a period, there is no need to add issues and tensions," he said.
At the same time, he noted that during the lunch "the two sides reiterated their firm positions on issues related to bilateral relations, but without the acrimony and tension that we have witnessed recently."
Economou noted that the status of both Greece and Turkey as two NATO allies makes it "important to focus on what unites us and less on what divides us".
In this context, the Government Spokesman explained that emphasis was placed on building a positive agenda mainly in the field of economy, while among the issues discussed was the need for cooperation in the creation of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine.
Moreover, it was agreed that if the positive atmosphere between the two countries is consolidated, the 5th High Cooperation Council of the two countries will be held in Thessaloniki in the autumn, while the meeting of the two sides on Confidence Building Measures will be held in Ankara next month.
Regarding the informal European Council held last week, Mr. Oikonomou referred to the six-point proposal put forward by Mitsotakis to tackle the energy crisis.
"The Prime Minister's argument that the gas market has stopped functioning according to market rules and that its price is not determined by supply and demand, but is unfortunately determined speculatively, resonates." He also stressed that the reference in the Conclusions of the Summit to the will of the member states to reduce their dependence on natural gas, oil and raw materials from Russia as soon as possible is particularly important.
"Greece has a very important -energy and geopolitical- role to play as a gateway for LNG, but also as a host country for natural gas," the Government Spokesman said on this issue. Oikonomou highlighted as a particularly important point of the Informal Summit "the fact that - again after Greek intervention - there is, in the defence section, a reference to Article 42, paragraph 7 of the Treaty of the European Union, concerning the mutual assistance clause". "Thus, in addition to Article 5 of NATO, the European Union's commitment to support any of its member states in the event of an attack is confirmed," he said.
Finally, Mr. Economou also referred to the Greek Prime Minister's commitment that "Greece is ready to temporarily host refugees from Ukraine within the framework of European rules."
"[W]e like this solidarity, without asterisks, recalling that our country did not find a similar response when faced with similar challenges in the recent past", Mr. Economou concluded, reiterating the need for a common pact on migration and asylum, with fair burden-sharing among European countries.
Source: KYPE
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