Ankara, Athens can create burst of opportunities, says Greek foreign minister

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Greek foreign minister on Tuesday said that Ankara and Athens could create together a burst of opportunities and growth.

"Honestly, I believe that it would be a dream to erase the Greek-Turkish difference from the map and have those two countries collaborate,” Nikos Dendias said in an interview with public broadcaster ERT.

“Resolving the Greek-Turkish disagreement on maritime zones in accordance with international law is my greatest dream for Greek foreign policy,” he added.

Dendias added that the escalation between the two countries in the summer of 2020 was the toughest time for him as foreign minister.

Due to the level-headedness of both sides and their realistic attitude, the worst was averted, he said.

Dendias expressed the hope that the window of opportunity to improve relations that opened after the deadly earthquakes in southern Türkiye on Feb. 6 is maintained.

Greece was among the first countries to convey condolences and offer aid on Feb. 6, when twin earthquakes struck 11 southern Turkish provinces.

Likewise, Türkiye was the first country to offer its condolences and aid following a Feb. 28 train accident in northern Greece that left at least 57 people dead.

After the accident, Türkiye allowed a Greek prisoner to go to Greece to attend his son's funeral.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Dendias met on March 20 in Brussels and agreed that Türkiye would support Greece’s campaign for the Security Council in 2025-2026. Athens agreed it would support Ankara’s candidacy for Secretary General of International Maritime Organization.

Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos visited Türkiye last week and met his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar.