Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos made the following statements after his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, on the margins of Ministerial Week at the UN General Assembly in New York:
“The talks we had with Mr. Davutoglu were friendly, specific and productive.
It is of very great importance for the two countries to function in a coordinated manner in our common space, which is the Mediterranean and Southeast Europe.
Our common goal is, of course, the stabilization of the region. Thus, the first issues we discussed were those concerning the situation in Syria and Egypt. Our view is that Egypt must be stabilized and led to full restoration of democratic institutions, so that all of Egyptian society and all Egyptian citizens – whose principal goal is their security and prosperity – can express themselves politically.
The trilateral meeting we had yesterday evening with my colleagues from Cyprus and Egypt is a platform for political cooperation that is not aimed against anyone and, obviously, is in no way hostile with regard to Turkey. Because it is always our desire for all the countries of the region to cooperate within the framework of international law – more specifically, the Law of the Sea – so that we can capitalize on the region’s wealth, moving together in the field of energy. And naturally the delimitation of maritime zones and the exploitation of all the opportunities provided us by international legality is the first thing we must do in this region.
We also have very good cooperation on issues of confronting terrorism, which is an international priority, and we have the common goal of restoring the role of the UN Security Council, which must function as guarantor of security and peace – not just in Syria, but in every region of the world.
We also talked about the things that express our societies’ hope for development, employment and social cohesion. The two countries’ private sectors have a vast amount of room for cooperation, and we will again take relevant initiatives through the chambers of commerce or other business organizations”
JOURNALIST: Will you say something about the Cyprus issue, as well as the issues you discussed, EEZ?
E. VENIZELOS: Obviously, we talked about the developments in the Cyprus issue. Mr. Davutoglu had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Downer. I too will be receiving a visit from Mr. Downer. We can shape fresh momentum on the Cyprus issue, based on the proposals that have been made by President Anastasiades, and as the Cypriot government has also asked us to meet with the Turkish Cypriot negotiator, we are prepared to meet, provided, naturally, that the Turkish government agrees to talk to the Greek Cypriot negotiator. This is something very important. It is a new procedural element that contributes to the creation of this momentum on the Cyprus problem that we were talking about earlier.”
JOURNALIST: Mr. Minister, what was the Turkish side’s comment on yesterday’s trilateral meeting?
E. VENIZELOS: He asked to be apprised of the content and nature of the meeting, and I reiterated what I said yesterday: that it is a platform for cooperation. There are many such bilateral and trilateral cooperation platforms. One does not cancel out another; none is hostile to any other. We are open to broader cooperation platforms. For us, in any case, good relations with Turkey, within the framework of international law, is a fundamental choice. We want to strengthen our strategic partnership with Turkey, and we will also be doing this during the six months of the Greek EU Presidency.
September 23, 2013