Gerapetritis in Milliyet: “I am sending a message of friendship to the neighbouring Turkish people”

With the front page title: “A message of friendship to the neighbouring Turkish people,” the Milliyet newspaper published a message from the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Gerapetritis, ahead of his meeting today in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.

In his message, Gerapetritis notes that the two countries that clashed almost 100 years ago ended immediately after in reconciliation and ways of cooperation. Something that “can be repeated under better conditions today”, as he says, stressing that “an endless discussion cannot be an option”.

Gerapetritis in Milliyet: “I am sending a message of friendship to the neighbouring Turkish people” https://t.co/vKAnQVcUpG pic.twitter.com/1f8Eto67KC

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The Foreign Minister writes: “The thought that accompanies me on this trip is that if in 1923, on the eve of a cruel war with enormous losses for both sides, Greece and Turkey could find the way of compromise and managed to bridge their differences, then we too, under incomparably better conditions, must honestly walk the path of peaceful cooperation and seek reconciliation, observing the principles and rules of international law. Endless confrontation cannot be an option,” said Gerapetritis in his message, noting that his visit to Ankara today takes place after the meeting between Erdogan and Mitsotakis at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where they “decided to step up efforts to strengthen the climate of mutual respect and trust between our countries.”

The foreign minister, who is already in Turkey, also emphasises that his meeting with his Turkish counterpart “constitutes preparation for the meeting of the two leaders in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, as well as for the High-Level Cooperation Council Greece-Turkey. in Thessaloniki at the end of the year.”