SigmaLive — Turkish Foreign minister Melvut Cavusoglu met with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias on the island of Crete on Sunday. The two men’s unofficial meeting took place at Crete’s luxury Elounda Resort and focused on bilateral relations and bilateral cooperation.
The Greek minister again expressed the Greek people’s solidarity with the Turkish people’s fight against the attempted coup in Turkey and said they decided with Cavusoglu to further explore avenues for dialogue and cooperation in economic affairs, transport and political dialogue.
Cavusoglu thanked Kotzias and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for their support during the difficult hours of the attempted coup, noting the Turkish people were greatly pleased with the support shown by the Greek people and the “clear stance of the Greek government”.
“Our effort is all focused on strengthening relations between Turkey and Greece even more,” the Turkish foreign minister said, with references to the High-level Cooperation Council and CBMs, as well as the exploratory talks between the two countries. He expressed satisfaction with Kotzias’ initiative for regular unofficial meetings like the one held on Sunday.
Referring to the Cyprus issue, Cavusoglu expressed hope that “this time both sides in Cyprus will make use of this opportunity that they have,” promising support.
The Turkish minister, in his first visit to an EU country after last July’s failed coup attempt in Turkey, was visiting Crete in response to an invitation extended by Kotzias some months earlier.
