Will do our best for eternal peace, stability in Turkish-Greek relations, says Turkish president

ATHENS

We will do our best for eternal peace and stability to prevail in Turkish-Greek relations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

“It is up to us (Türkiye-Greece) to thaw bilateral relations, attempted to be squeezed between walls (of prejudice) which we should tear down,” President Erdogan told Greek daily Kathimerini in an exclusive interview.

Praising the ongoing process of improvement in bilateral relations and stressing that Türkiye is sincerely committed to betterment in ties, Erdogan said: “Of course, there are issues on which we disagree. But there are also many issues on which we agree. Postponing to discuss to our dispute will not resolve them. We should be brave enough to address the sources of disagreements and move to resolve them.”

He said the thaw in relations and agreements signed during his visit to Athens last December are already yielding concrete and positive results.

Asked about the demarcation of maritime borders between Greece and Türkiye, which is one of the main source of disputes between the two NATO allies, Erdogan said Türkiye does not exclude the option of taking the matter to international courts.

The Turkish president, however, stressed that the two countries should be committed to developing holistic approach to resolve their disputes, instead of prioritizing one issue over others.

Commenting on visa facilitation by Greece towards Turkish citizens, which allows them to enter some Greek islands in the Aegean Sea under a simplified and fast procedure, Erdogan said: “This should not be even necessary and the EU should grant visa liberalization to Türkiye.”

• Kathimerini
• Recep Tayyip Erdogan
• Turkish-Greek Relations