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Turkey, Greece wish to restart dialogue to resolve Cyprus issue
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THE 3rd Greek-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council chaired by Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu closed here Saturday with both leaders expressing hope for the restart of the UN-mediated dialogue to resolve the Cyprus issue and the strengthening of overall cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean.
In statements made to the press at the end of the two-day meeting between Greek and Turkish officials Davutoglu linked the progress regarding the Cyprus issue with collaboration in the energy sector, including exploitation of oil and gas deposits off the ethnically- divided island's shores.
"We certainly hope that the Cyprus issue will be resolved so that cooperation in the energy sector will be strengthened," he said.
On his part, Samaras stressed that the return to the table of dialogue for Athens and the Cyprus Republic demands the prior withdrawal of the Turkish research vessel Barbaros from the island's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Ankara deployed Barbaros in October in response to the start of an exploration program by the Greek Cypriot side. Barbaros' presence within Cyprus EEZ caused the strong reactions of Greece and Cyprus President Nikos Anastasiades'administration.
"We understand President Anastasiades'decision to withdraw from negotiations over the Cyprus issue until the current problem will be resolved. And this can happen soon, so that the talks will restart," Samaras said.
Until today Ankara does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus and subsequently its rights to exploit energy reserves in the area without the Turkish Cypriot side's involvement.
Dialogue aimed to resolve the Cyprus issue and reunify the island have started and collapsed innumerous times.
The Greek-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council gatherings were launched in 2010 as part of efforts to improve relations between the two neighbor countries. Saturday's meeting examined progress steps made in the implementation of the total of 47 cooperation agreements signed during the previous two Councils in various sectors.
The meeting ended with the issuance of a joint declaration in which the two sides pledged to further promote bilateral ties and collaboration in sectors ranging from trade and tourism to the tackling of illegal migration and terrorism.
The good climate between officials during the Athens meeting fuelled hopes that tensions which increased in recent months over the Cyprus issue could deescalate.
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