Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Nikos Kocias in İzmir
Turkish and Greek foreign ministers on Tuesday participated in the opening ceremony of the recently renovated Greek Consulate General’s building in Turkey’s Aegean province of Izmir.
Speaking at the ceremony, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Turkey sees dialogue and cooperation as building blocks in its relations with Greece.
He said Turkey has been hosting Greek consulate in Izmir since 1877.
Germany’s foreign minister Heiko Maas will pay a working visit to Turkey on Sept. 5-6, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.During his visit, Maas will meet with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, and will be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Parliament Speaker Binali Yıldırım, the ministry said in a statement.“Turkish-German bilateral relations, our EU process and current regional and international issues will be on the agenda of the meetings,” the statement said.It also said Çavuşoğlu and Maas will participate in the opening ceremony of the German Lyceum’s new academic year to mark its 150th year anniversary in Istanbul.Germany urges prevention of disaster in Syria’s IdlibTurkish warships at the ready in East Med as Idlib battle looms
German FM to pay working visit to Turkey on Wednesday
Çavuşoğlu said the start of ferry services between Izmir and Greece's Thessaloniki is facing a delay.
"This has to start as soon as possible. Let's work together on this issue. Likewise, we have a railroad project between Istanbul and Thessaloniki, we will also realize this," he added.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, for his part, said that he hopes the visa requirement for the Turkish citizens to enter Greece will be lifted soon, which would also ease the workload of the consulate.
Kotzias added that they will also renovate the Greek embassy building in the capital Ankara.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Monday that Turkey could start drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean this autumn as the country had already purchased a platform.Speaking at a joint news conference with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Kudret Ozersay, Çavuşoğlu said the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has territorial waters and a continental shelf which Turkey would take all measures to protect."Turkey has an economic area in the Eastern Mediterranean," he added.Çavuşoğlu also mentioned that Turkey had earlier prevented the start of some drilling works in the Eastern Mediterranean.Turkish warships at the ready in East Med as Idlib battle looms"Now, we have a platform and we can start drilling," Çavuşoğlu said noting that Ankara has discussed the issue with drilling companies and guarantor country Greece,Çavuşoğlu added that he will also meet his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias on Tuesday in the Turkish province of Izmir and discuss the Cyprus issue.He said if the Greek Cypriot side continues taking unilateral steps, Turkey will start drilling activities.Russia set for first post-Soviet military drill in Med.Ozersay also reiterated that if Greek Cypriots will continue unilateral drilling activities, Turkish Cypriots will also "start drilling soon" in accordance with the license it had already provided to Turkish Petroleum.Turkey has repeatedly warned the Greek Cypriot Administration about its unilateral hydrocarbon-related research in the Eastern Mediterranean, saying Turkish Cypriots also have rights to the resources around the area.Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks and Ankara's intervention as a guarantor power.In 2017, after two years of negotiations, the latest attempt to reunify the long-divided Mediterranean island ended in failure.
Turkey could start drilling in Eastern Mediterranean: FM