With his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron met the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday attending the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

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The heads of state and government of NATO member countries are meeting for two days in Vilnius to discuss, among other things, the war in Ukraine and Sweden’s accession to NATO.

Mitsotakis from Vilnius: Significant differences with Turkey, but we are not doomed to live in a climate of tension

We have significant differences with Turkeybut we can agree on a roadmap for demarcating maritime zones, we are not condemned to live in a constant climate of tensionthe prime minister said Kyriakos Mitsotakis attending the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

Mr. Mitsotakis noted that will have the opportunity to meet with Recep Tayyip Erdoganin the first meeting after the double electoral victory.

“I think both with a strong popular mandate we can take a first step towards normalizing relations” mentioned and added that “a positive climate has developed in recent months. I hope we can build on this for steps forward for the benefit of our peoples.”

Regarding Turkey’s green light for Sweden’s NATO membership, he said: “The reaffirmation of the basic principles of the alliance is today more relevant than ever and I want to welcome the decision on principle of Turkey and President Erdogan to accept Sweden into the alliance and we hope very soon that our friend Sweden will become the 32nd member of the alliance”.

The Prime Minister’s entire statement

“We are meeting here, in Vilnius, while the Russian invasion of Ukraine is still raging a few hundred kilometers away. Consequently, the reaffirmation of the basic principles and values ​​of the Alliance is today more necessary than ever and I want to welcome the decision in principle by Turkey and President Erdoğan to welcome Sweden into the Alliance. And I wish very soon and officially that our friend Sweden will become the 32nd member of our Alliance.

I will, as you know, also have the opportunity to meet tomorrow in person with President Erdoğan, in our first meeting since our double electoral victory. I believe that both of us, with a strong popular mandate, can take a first step in restarting the relations between Greece and Turkey.

As I have said many times, we are not doomed to live with Turkey in a permanent climate of tension. We obviously have significant differences. But we can agree that, based on good neighborly relations but also our respect for International Law, we will draw up a road map so that we can resolve our most important geopolitical difference, which is none other than the delimitation of the maritime zones, i.e. the EEZ and continental shelf, in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

A positive climate has developed in recent months in the relations between our two countries and I hope and look forward that we can build on this positive climate and make some important steps forward. Steps of progress which will obviously be to the benefit of both our peoples”.