Kotzias to meet Kasoulides for talks on Cyprus problem, Turkey
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias is to meet with his visiting Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides at 11/30 a.m. in Athens on Friday.
The talks are expected to focus on the situation in Turkey following last weekend's attempted coup.
Discussions will also focus on renewed peace talks aimed at reunifying the island of Cyprus. They come two days after the 42nd anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus.
Kotzias provoked a terse response from Ankara in comments that drew a parallel between the invasion and the current situation in post-coup Turkey.
“Greece does not and will never accept the consequences of the Turkish invasion,” Kotzias said. “It has made it clear to all sides that the elimination of the anachronistic system of guarantees and the withdrawal of all Turkish occupation forces – which, as the recent events in Turkey confirmed, undermine rather than ensure constitutional order and democratic normalcy – are an integral part of the solution of the Cyprus problem.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry responded that linking the Cyprus situation to recent events in Turkey was “ill-intentioned” and “unfortunate,” and called on Athens to avoid trying to benefit from the events and to display good neighborly behavior.
