Dendias: Greece ‘always mature’ in dealings with Turkey

Greece has always acted maturely, in accordance with international law and the international law of the sea, as well as understanding for the internal political difficulties of Turkey in its dealings with it, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Friday, in a meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf.

“It gives me no satisfaction to repeat the very long dialogue on Turkish provocations. I would rather talk about Turkey as a model country that accepts international law and our values. A country with a modernising European course. And I sincerely believe that this is what a great part of Turkish society wants,” Dendias said.

The foreign minister said he would rather talk of Turkey as a country that was not threatening Greece or the surrounding region but this Turkey must first be created: “The Turkey that we see is not what we want it to be and its behaviour is not that we would want to have,” he added.

The Gulf Cooperation Council secretary general, on his part, emphasised the importance of security in the Mediterranean for the Gulf countries.

He said that relations between Gulf countries and Greece were based on mutual respect and a common outlook on many issues, as well as creating opportunities for growth and development benefiting both sides.

Referring to a cooperation memorandum signed in New York, he said that this helped complement the historically excellent relations between the two sides, and noted the talks underway on investments, education, culture, the environment, climate change and farming, so that trade relations might match the level of political relations. [AMNA]