Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras met on Wednesday with the President of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, in New York, and discussed the Cyprus issue, bilateral relations and the refugee crisis.

According to a Greek government source, the Greek Premier stressed the importance of the issue of security in the Cyprus peace talks, telling Erdogan that the objective is to reach a settlement that will take into account the security of all Cypriots.

The same source also noted that Tsipras reiterated Greece`s firm position regarding the withdrawal of all troops from the island.

The Greek side further said that there is progress in the ongoing UN-led negotiations, pointing out at the same time that important issues remain to be settled between the two communities.

In response, the Turkish President said – according to the same source – that they continue with the dialogue, cooperation and closer relations, in order to close all open issues.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have been engaged in peace talks since May last year with a view to finding a negotiated settlement that would reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

The two men also discussed bilateral issues and the migrant crisis, and Tsipras expressed Athens` support to the democratically elected government in Turkey, following the failed coup attempt in the country, last July.

They agreed on the need to uphold the EU-Turkey agreement in dealing with the migrant crisis, and noted the reduced migrant flows, as a result. However, they said that efforts from all sides need to continue, in order to implement all aspects of the agreement, with Athens expressing support to Ankara over the visa liberalization process, under the conditions set by the EU.

The two men discussed the connection between Thessaloniki and Istanbul by train and between Thessaloniki and Izmir by boat.

CNA/AZ/AGK/MM/2016