GREECE SUPPORTS TURKEY’S BID FOR EU

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.03.2008 14:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Greece supports Turkey’s bid for the European Union
membership, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Saturday in
Ankara after a meeting with her Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan.

"I assured Mr. Babacan that Greece supports and would continue to
support Turkey’s perspective regarding Europe," she said, adding that
Turkey becoming an EU member would mean that the country has fulfilled
EU criteria. "Moreover, such a development would bring stability and
development to the entire region."

Babacan, for his part, said that both Turkey and Greece had a positive
approach towards each other currently, adding, "while our political,
economic and cultural relations improve rapidly, we talk about our
problems openly and we try to find solutions," Xinhua news agency
reports.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis paid his first visit to Turkey
in January 28. He called on Turkey to meet its commitments to the
European Union, which suspended membership talks in December 2006
over the Cyprus problem.

The talks on some items were resumed last June.