EU countries’ foreign ministers expressed cautious optimism on a change in Turkey’s stance with the Union to a friendlier tone, Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Alexandros Papaioannou said on Thursday.
At a briefing related to Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias’ travel to Brussels to attend the ministers’ council, Papaioannou said that “those who intervened in the discussions stressed we must be positive, but we are very wary of how long this friendly attitude will last in the long run – there was scepticism.”
The spokesman said that Dendias reiterated Greece’s support for Turkey’s accession to the EU as long as it respects the EU’s principles and values, including International Law and the Law of the Sea.
The ministers, he said, also discussed EU-Russian relations as well, vaccinations, and the Western Balkans, among other issues, while the Greek minister had several meetings with top officials on the sidelines of the council.
Asked to comment about the renewed Greek-Turkish exploratory talks, Papaioannou underlined that the meetings are informal and confidential, and no briefing is provided on their content.
Dendias, he added, is willing to meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in person, as long as the right conditions prevail and the meeting aims at results.
