On his visit Kyriakou Mitsotakis in Turkey, and in the meeting with him, the president of Turkey mentioned Recep Tayyip Erdogan as broadcast by Manolis Kostidis. The meeting between the two leaders is “locked” for May 13.

“Mitsotakis’ visit to Turkey is a return visitthis is an important stage in relationships, we will discuss how we can to bring our relations to a better level” said the Turkish president speaking to journalists.

“Erdogan sets the tone, as there is tension in Greek-Turkish relations with the marine parks,” commented the SKAI correspondent in Istanbul.

Statement by the Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis on Greek-Turkish on Channel One:

“The approach being attempted between Greece and Turkey is in my opinion a historical necessity. The two countries are neighbors, they are destined by geography to live together. And those of us who are in the service of the country should try to have a peaceful neighborhood.

This does not mean, of course, that we will have a constantly linear path forward. It is certain that there will be moments where we will have some retreats in relation to the relationship that is developing. There will be issues that will create tension for us. After all, our basic position from the beginning was that the positions of the two parties are not going to change. What we will attempt, will be to emphasize those points which are mutually beneficial and can help us to progress a little better in our relationship. To be in a state which, firstly, will allow us to be in a relative calm and, secondly, when tensions arise, these do not lead to major crises.

What we must always keep in mind is that a crisis can come asymmetrically from an accident, from a wrong assessment, from a wrong report. So, it is good when these things happen, because they will happen, that we have those safeguards to be able to to decompress crises.

As far as the visit of the Prime Minister is concerned, it will take place, as the Prime Minister himself mentioned, on May 13. We have matters to discuss. Further directions should be given by the two leaders. The organization of the trip is progressing normally, as planned and I hope we will have a good and productive meeting”.