Ankara insists on a “bilateral resolution of disputes, outside of the framework of solidarity within the European Union”, according to the statements of the close associate of the Turkish president Akif Tsagatai Kilic ahead of the meeting between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly , in New York (September 18-20).

Preparatory to the meeting of the two leaders is the meeting that the two foreign ministers will have, Giorgos Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidanon September 5 in Ankara.

“The Greek Foreign Minister, who will be a guest of our Foreign Minister, had agreed to meet before the UN [Γενική Συνέλευση]. You can think of this as a preparation for Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ meeting with our president. After that, an intergovernmental meeting is planned in Thessaloniki in the fall,” he stressed the diplomatic advisor of President Erdogan, according to Manolis Kostidis. “They are not talking about a continental shelf problem, but for differences in the Aegean” said the SKAI correspondent in Istanbul.

“The fact that we discuss and exchange ideas among ourselves does not mean everythingwe agree on every point, but Greece is our neighbor” the Turkish official noted.

We have, Mr Kilic added, serious differences of opinion in the Aegean, on the islands, in the Eastern Mediterranean, regarding the situation prevailing on the island of Cyprus. However there is a history that we share, we live together in the same geography, we live together in the same region.

“Therefore, there are issues that we need to discuss with each other at certain points. There are issues we have to deal with on our ownwithout the intervention of third parties, without the intervention of third countries” he insisted.

“In other words, if you approach [σ.σ.η Αθήνα] everything in the context of solidarity within the European Union, we will not be able to find a solution. But if we look at them in a bilateral context, then it may be possible to make progress in some places. This is what we are trying to promote” he asserted.

“Both the general elections in Greece and the presidential elections in Turkey are over. There are governments that were elected for 5 years Their will is clear. In this sense, we are able to make progress. This is what we are trying to do with the European Union and with Greece. In addition, Greece is our neighbor and we do not see it as an enemy” said Tsagatai Kilic.

“There (in Greece), in the press, certain statements are made by various non-governmental organizations and certain members of Parliament which present Turkey as if it were an enemy of Greece. These are not true. We are two neighboring countries living in the same region and sharing a common history in some places,” he said, but added:

“We will never give up our rights arising from international law or our rights in relation to the size of Turkey, our rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, the situation prevailing on the island of Cyprus. In short, we are not in a position to back away from the rights of the citizens living in the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’, nor are they [ενν. οι Τ/Κ] Neither we. In any case, we are a guarantor country.”

According to Mr. Kilic, in the context of bilateral relations, after the earthquake, we all experienced the pain. More than 50,000 of our fellow citizens lost their lives. After these seismic predictions there was a positive process. So, through a disaster, there was a rapprochement in relations between the two countries and you see that.

“Actually, there is no problem between the Greek people and the Turkish people. As I said at the beginning, some present Turkey as an enemy for domestic political reasons. There are of course some issues on which we disagree, on which we do not agree we will not waive our international rights. But beyond that, we will sit down and talk,” he said.