The resumption of the negotiations on the Cyprus problem remains a priority for Athens, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in an interview on Saturday.
Athens is expecting the new Cyprus president, Nikos Christodoulides, to pay his first visit to Greece, as “to pick up the thread of the discussions again,” Dendias told Ta Nea newspaper.
Referring to his close cooperation with Christodoulides during his time as foreign minister, Dendias estimated that after the completion of the electoral processes in Greece and Turkey, there will be “a clearer basis for starting” on the Cyprus issue.
He said he looks forward to welcome Christodoulides to resume discussions on the issues of interest.
“First among them, of course, is the issue of the resumption of talks for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions. This means breaking the deadlock in the talks that has emerged over the last year and a half”, Dendias said.
Asked about the possibility of an imminent quadrilateral meeting among Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the US, Dendias said it is too early to comment.
“It is a bit premature to talk about future meetings of different configurations. And the government in Israel is new and the President of the Republic of Cyprus has just been elected. But Greece has also practically entered an electoral cycle, so we will have to wait a bit,” he said.
He stressed, however, that “energy projects offer an important area of cooperation in the wider region, and even more so at the current juncture of the energy crisis.”
Regarding the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Athens next week, Dendias noted that “this is a visit that demonstrates once again in the most tangible way the confidence of the US in the undeniable role of our country in defending stability and prosperity in the wider region”.
“The talks with Mr Blinken will include issues of bilateral cooperation, spearheading the strategic dialogue between Greece and the US. I will also brief my American counterpart on regional issues, particularly with regard to developments in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the foreign minister explained.
Commenting on his visit to earthquake-stricken Antioch, Dendias acknowledged the warmth and gratitude with which he was received by his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and said Greece is willing to show its full support to Turkey after this natural disaster.
However, he noted that the climate of solidarity between the two peoples “is far from a realistic approach to Greek-Turkish relations”.
“We cannot associate Greece’s assistance to the suffering Turkish people with any geopolitical developments,” he said.
Despite this, “Turkey’s change of tone after three years of tension is welcome,” the minister said, explaining this allows for relative optimism about the possibility of a shift from a revisionist model of bilateral relations to a climate of good neighbourliness. This should be “governed by respect for fundamental principles of international law and ensuring conditions of peace and stability in our wider region,” he said.
“But we should not forget that we are always in a complex regional environment and in a period of political developments within Turkey, in view of the upcoming elections,” he added.
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