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Turkey calls for restraint over Aegean territorial dispute

19 May 2011 18:17 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Turkey on Thursday called for restraint over the Aegean territorial dispute between itself and Greece, saying the current positive atmosphere should not be damaged, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"Until these problems are resolved, it is of great importance for both parties to refrain from unilateral efforts that may endanger peace and stability in the region and damage the positive atmosphere between them," Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Selcuk Unal was quoted by the semi-official Anatolia news agency as telling reporters here.

Turkey wants the Aegean region to become an area of peace, friendship and cooperation with Greece, Unal said.

"We preserve the necessary will and determination for the solution of all the problems in the Aegean in a comprehensive and lasting way that is based on mutual consent and common interests of both parties and through peaceful methods," he was quoted as saying.

Turkey and Greece have been traditional rivals in the eastern Mediterranean. The two NATO countries came close to war due to a dispute over an uninhabited island in the Aegean Sea in 1996.

However, Turkish government’s "zero problem" policy with its neighbors has led to a relatively peaceful environment in relations since 2002, when the ruling Justice and Development Party came into rule. The two countries have been discussing the dispute on Aegean in exploratory talks.