TURKISH PREMIER SEEKS DIALOGUE
eKathimerini
Nov 6 2009
Greece
Erdogan wants joint council set up to debate thorny issues, visiting
diplomat tells government
A letter sent to Prime Minister George Papandreou by his Turkish
counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposes the establishment of a
joint council involving the premiers and ministers of both countries
to debate key issues of bilateral concern such as the Cyprus problem,
tensions in the Aegean and illegal immigration, a top-ranking Turkish
diplomat revealed during a visit to Athens yesterday.
Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s minister for European Union affairs, was in
Athens to attend a conference on Ankara’s EU accession prospects
organized by the International Center for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS).
Bagis said Erdogan has expressed his interest in joint discussions with
Greek government officials on a range of issues. But Bagis himself
kept his cards rather close to his chest on issues of key concern to
Greece such as illegal immigration and the Cyprus problem, focusing
more on the topic of Ankara’s EU accession bid, due for evaluation
by the European Commission next month.
On the issue of Cyprus, Bagis noted that a settlement would be
"beneficial for all involved" but reiterated that Turkey would
only open its ports and airports to Cypriot ships and aircraft
– in accordance with EU demands – if economic sanctions on the
Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus are lifted.
As for the problem of illegal immigration, Bagis avoided commenting
on the failure by Turkish authorities to honor a migrant repatriation
pact signed by Athens and Ankara in 2003, referring instead to the
arrests of smugglers that have been made on Turkish soil.
Nevertheless Bagis said he believed Erdogan’s initiative would spur
dialogue and could possibly lead to progress on longstanding problems.
"These days we discuss everything in Turkey, things that had been
taboo in the past," Bagis said, referring to a pact signed between
Turkey and Armenia last month to restore diplomatic ties.
In a related development yesterday, Turkey’s state-run Anatolia news
agency said that Erdogan was planning an official visit to Greece
but that a date had yet to be set.