On Tuesday the Greek Defence Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, attended a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Ismet Yilmaz, on the sidelines of NATO defence ministers held in Brussels.
In statements, Avramopoulos stressed the meeting’s significance and said it offered an opportunity to “put an end to a small period of tension recently observed, which might possibly have driven us off course based on the directions given by our governments and agreed during the last meeting held in Istanbul about a year ago.”
The minister also expressed his conviction that the two sides had the will to work in order to establish an environment of security and stability: “The two country must cooperate so that, in this arc of instability stretching from Tunisia to Ukraine, we act together as factors of stability in the surrounding region.”
Avramopoulos said the meeting with Yilmaz had also examined bilateral issues relating to the Aegean Sea and the continental shelf, while stressing that “we are not here to solve them”.
“These will take their time and at some point, I am certain they will be settled on the basis of the principles of international law and international legality,” he added.
For the time being, the two sides could maintain a policy of peaceful and good relations, he said, noting that the countries’ defence systems could contribute to this effort by avoiding situations that might lead to irregularity or even escalation.
Referring to economic, investment and trade ties with Turkey, including the 1.5 million Turks that visited Greece as tourists in 2013 and the roughly 2.5 million tourists expected to travel between the two countries in 2014, Avramopoulos said this good climate must be preserved and further improved for the sake of security and stability.
On the Cyprus issue, the Greek defence minister noted that a solution would “release a tremendous energy benefiting our bilateral relations in all areas.”
Yilmaz similarly noted that Turkey and Greece had coexisted “peacefully and fraternally” for many years, despite the problems between them, adding that the “existing atmosphere” was that these should now be resolved. He similarly pointed to hotspots of crisis and instability surrounding both countries, adding that Greece and Turkey must become an “island of stability and peace” and the Aegean Sea must no longer be a source of problems but one that ensured peace for both countries, contributing to their economic growth and prosperity.
Regarding the Cyprus problem, he said the Turkish side wanted a solution to be achieved soon and would offer its support, while the problems in the Aegean might be resolved in accordance with international law and taking into account the interests of both countries.
Yilmaz also announced that he had extended an invitation to Avramopoulos to visit Turkey, which the Greek minister had accepted.