Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis is in Ankara today, where today at 10:00 a working meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan is scheduled, with the aim of finding a first framework for the methodology and the schedule that could be followed on the agenda of the Greek Turks.

The main objective of today’s four is the preparation of the appointment of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the context of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, as well as the High Council of Greece-Turkey Cooperation that will take place in Thessaloniki next December, as Mr. Gerapetritis pointed out in his statements to the Turkish Anadolu Agency.

Indicative of the climate is the fact that the Turkish newspaper Milliyet is circulating today with an article by the foreign minister entitled “Message of Friendship” on its front page.

The minister’s visit to Turkey follows the meeting of the two leaders at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and as Mr. Gerapetritis points out in his article, it is a decision by the two leaders to “intensify efforts to consolidate a climate of mutual respect and trust between countries”.

“The thought that accompanies me on this journey is that if in 1923, on the eve of a cruel war with enormous losses for both sides, Greece and Turkey were able to find a way of compromise and managed to bridge their differences , then we too, under incomparably better conditions, must honestly and honestly walk the path of peaceful cooperation and seek understanding, respecting the principles and rules of international law”, says Mr. Gerapetritis.

“Endless confrontation cannot be an option”, he emphasizes characteristically.

Answering questions from Anadolu before his visit to Turkey, Mr. Gerapetritis said that he and Mr. Fidan have established a good personal relationship “on the basis of mutual understanding and honesty and that they are in regular contact in a way that allows direct and constructive cooperation”.

“The direct channel of communication at a high level allows for the rapid resolution of crises and that this fact also provides a solid basis for talks between the officials of the two countries at all levels.”

“The new perspective that must be adopted to solve the problems that have not been resolved in bilateral relations for years is that priority must be given to the establishment of a relationship of honesty and trust between the two countries,” he pointed out.

He noted that the dialogue process “will be led by the foreign ministers, always with full respect for the principles of international law, and will be reflected in political dialogue, a positive agenda and confidence-building measures”.

“In this way, in order to achieve useful and specific results, there will be continuous monitoring, common approach and high accountability”, he stressed.

Referring to the positive agenda between the two countries, he said that it “aims under the revitalization of economic and trade cooperation and extends to areas of cooperation and the business community, such as transport, shipping, technology, environmental protection and tackling natural disasters”.

The schedule of Mr. Gerapetritis’ working visit is as follows:

10:00 – Meeting of Foreign Ministers

12:30 – Statements to the press

13:15 – 15:00 – Working lunch