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Greece, Turkey pledge support for resolution of Cyprus issue

14 December 2013 00:18 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Greece and Turkey reaffirmed their support to resolving the Cyprus issue and thorny bilateral issues during Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's visit to Athens on Friday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Davutoglu's discussions with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos mainly focused on the forthcoming resumption of peace talks in Cyprus.

During a joint press briefing, Venizelos said that Athens backed Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis' initiatives on the issue and was ready to contribute to a solution.

"A critical point is that any solution needs to be ratified with a referendum by Cypriot people," he stressed.

"We do not recognize the so-called Turkish Republic in Northern Cyprus," Venizelos added.

In regard to the Cyprus issue, Davutoglu said Turkey was also ready to contribute to a fair solution for the Mediterranean Sea island which has been divided since 1974.

He noted that Greece and Turkey had reached 27 bilateral agreements over the past three years "which showcase the importance of the strengthening of our cooperation."

However, he raised the controversial issue of the existence of a "Turkish" minority in the northern Greece region of Thrace, stating that "the minorities issue should be viewed as an opportunity, a bridge which will unite the two peoples."

Venizelos answered that for Greece there was only a Muslim minority.

Also on the agenda of discussions was Greece's forthcoming EU presidency in the first half of 2014 and its significance for Turkey's ties with the Union.

"We regard as very significant the Greek EU Presidency concerning our European prospects. The signing of an agreement for the repatriation of illegal immigrants would speed the process," Davutoglu said.

Athens has repeatedly strongly criticized Ankara for failure to take sufficient measures to avert the flow of tens of thousands of undocumented migrants from Turkey to Greece each year.