Cyprus discussed at meeting between Turkish and Greek FMs

The Cyprus problem was among the issues discussed by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis in Ankara on Tuesday.

At a press conference following the meeting, Gerapetritis said “the positions of the Greek side are known”, and that he supports the restarting of talks regarding the Cyprus problem within the criteria set out by the United Nations.

Fidan said that Turkey has “always defended the principle of equitable sharing” and added, “our views on the solution to the Cyprus problem are clear. As two guarantor countries, we will continue to discuss this issue”.

The pair also confirmed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 18.

Fidan said “relations between Turkey and Greece have entered a new positive era”, and added that Erdogan and Mitsotakis had agreed at the Nato summit in Vilnius that relations between the countries should be “handled in a positive atmosphere”.

He added that the revival of high-level contacts between the two countries is a positive development and said “we confirmed with [Gerapetritis] our mutual will to continue this. We reiterated our belief that problems will be solved through constructive dialogue between these two neighbours and allies”.