The Prime Ministers of Greece and Turkey have stated clearly, after high level talks in Athens, that they feel confident that talks between the two communities in Cyprus will resume shortly.
The talks were suspended last month by the President of Cyprus, Nikos Anastiasiades, in response to “a provocative act by Turkey” which sent a seismic vessel named Barbaros to Cyprus’ territorial waters, designated as an Exclusive Economic Zone by international law.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said that in spite of «substantial differences with Turkey”, especially on the Cyprus issue, he believes that “the problems which led to the suspension of the talks” can be overcome, and that “very shortly” the two sides will be able to return to the negotiating table.
His counterpart from Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, said that it is also Ankara’s desire to see the talks resuming “as soon as possible”, and added that should Greece and Turkey exert their influence in “helping the solution of the Cyprus issue”, this will open the way for “a fruitful co-operate in managing the energy resources in the area”, to the benefit of all.
The President of Cyprus is recovering at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York after open heart surgery on Tuesday.
Davutoglu sent his “warmest regards to President Anastasiades”, wishing him “a quick recovery, so that the inter-communal talks can start again”.
Samaras and Davutoglu attended the 3rd meeting of the High Level Cooperation Council, with the participation of more than 10 ministers from various governmental departments.
Davutoglu stressed that both sides in Cyprus have acknowledged that they should both benefit from the gas and petroleum resources in the sea area off the southern shores of the island, adding that “unilateral actions should be avoided”.
Addressing a joint Greek-Turkish Business Forum yesterday, in Athens, Turkey’s PM said that if the two countries worked together in the exploitation of gas and petroleum from the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, this could strengthen bonds between them. He spoke of “energy gates to the East and to the West”, that could benefit both countries.
A pipeline through Turkey to Asia would open the gates to Greece, and a pipeline through Greece to Europe would open this gate to Turkey, he said.
In the Joint Declaration after the High Level Meeting, the two Prime Ministers noted that:
“Greece and Turkey aim at further promoting their bilateral and regional co-operation in the field of energy, in particular natural gas pipelines and electricity interconnection networks. As far as the transportation of natural gas is concerned, the successful precedent of the TGI pipeline, operational since October 2007, has paved the way for an even closer cooperation between the two countries before the end of this decade. TAP and TANAP, linked together, clearly represent the most cost-efficient route for bringing the Caspian gas to Western Europe (starting from 2020), as verified by the Shah Deniz Consortium decision.”
Samaras said that Greece supports Turkey’s bid to become a full member of the EU, as long as it fulfills “all European obligations and requirements”.
Turkey’s PM thanked him, and added that Greece “is a valuable friend and supporter”, and that he is well aware of the fact that, as he said, in the past other European countries placed the blame on Greece for not wanting his country as a member of the EU, but he knows that this is not true.
“We are grateful to Greece for its continued support”, said Davutoglu who furthermore, in what was seen by political analysts in Athens as “yet another goodwill gesture towards Greece”, spoke against the British Museum’s decision to send a part of the Parthenon Marble Collection on loan to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. He said that this artefact, a wonderful statue of the headless body of the Ancient Greek God of the Rivers, Ilissos, should me returned with the other Marbles to Greece.
