\nThe visiting Greek\u00a0minister also said the current situation introduced a fresh opportunity for a permanent solution to the Cyprus question.\u201cCyprus should be an independent state. There should be a Cyprus that has very good relationships with all countries, and that has no need of guarantor countries,\u201d Kotzias said.<\/p>\n
Urging that no country should impose a solution or put pressure on the two parties, Kotzias praised the newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader. \u201cAk\u0131nc\u0131 is a figure representing the Cypriot soul. Resolving the Cyprus problem will help sort out so many other problems in the region,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The leaders of divided Cyprus agreed on May 11 to restart peace talks on May 15, a U.N. envoy has said, offering fresh hope for healing one of Europe\u2019s most enduring frozen conflicts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Once catering to Hollywood royalty, the Ledra Palace Hotel is now a shabby shadow of its former self, and is used as living quarters for UN forces.<\/p>\n
Eide said May 11 that the two leaders had agreed to meet on May 15 to have a \u201cgeneral exchange of views\u201d and discuss the modalities and structure of negotiations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The last major peace push collapsed in 2004, when Greek Cypriots rejected a reunification blueprint accepted by the Turkish Cypriots.<\/p>\n
In Ankara, Kotzias reiterated Greece\u2019s support of Turkey\u2019s membership in the European Union, but underscored that Athens favored seeing Turkey accept and implement all EU rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also want to see the EU acknowledging the richness of Turkey and the Turkish people. We want the EU to see and embrace Turkey\u2019s political views. I am of the opinion that the positive climate that will be nourished by supporting the resolutions in Cyprus and in the Aegean will constitute an inspiration for Turkish-Greek ties and for the entire region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nBoth Kotzias and Turkish Foreign Minister \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu also announced a fresh agreement on a package of confidence-building measures to avoid unwanted clashes that could increase tension in the Aegean Sea, in a move to launch a new era in bilateral ties.\u201cWe have agreed on a number of confidence-building measures to prevent the occurrence of unwanted accidents as a result of military activities in the Aegean,\u201d \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu told reporters.<\/p>\n
Kotzias said the agreement included nine technical measures aimed at reducing the tension in the Aegean Sea and resolving existing problems between the two countries. The ministers did not provide details about the measures that they will take in the Aegean.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main objective is to make the Turkish and Greek\u00a0peoples come closer together, to improve relations, and to turn the Aegean into a sea of friendship \u2026 We are continuing our efforts to resolve existing problems between the two countries through dialogue. We will resume exploratory talks,\u201d \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu said.<\/p>\n
The decade-old exploratory talks have aimed to find a negotiated solution to the existing problems over the Aegean Sea, including defining the continental shelf, territorial waters and airspace.<\/p>\n
Kotzias underlined that Turkey and Greece\u00a0stood as \u201celements of stability\u201d in the region, with a joint demand to resolve the problems stemming from the Aegean Sea.<\/p>\n
Tsipras-Davuto\u011flu in accord \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
The Greek\u00a0foreign minister also had separate meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u00a0and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu\u00a0as part of his visit to Turkey.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy impression is that Davuto\u011flu and [Greek Prime Minister Alexis] Tsipras are on the same wavelength. Both are young and are reading the international environment well. Tsipras will come to Turkey with pleasure. I am not a member of any political party in\u00a0Greece\u00a0but I think both countries are lucky to have such prime ministers,\u201d Kotzias said.<\/p>\n
He also added that officials from two countries\u2019 interior and justice ministries would soon come together to discuss illegal human trafficking, an issue of concern for both sides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
May\/12\/2015<\/span><\/p>\n have a similar will,\u201d Turkish Foreign Minister Mevl\u00fct \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu said during a joint press meeting with his Greek\u00a0counterpart Nikos Kotzias in Ankara\u00a0on May 12.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s not miss this opportunity,\u201d he added, calling for more frequent and intensified negotiations. \u201cCyprus should be an independent state. There should be a Cyprus that has very good relationships with all countries, and that has no need of guarantor countries,\u201d<\/strong> Kotzias said.<\/p>\n Urging that no country should impose a solution or put pressure on the two parties, Kotzias praised the newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader. \u201cAk\u0131nc\u0131 is a figure representing the Cypriot soul. Resolving the Cyprus problem will help sort out so many other problems in the region,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The leaders of divided Cyprus agreed on May 11 to restart peace talks on May 15, a U.N. envoy has said, offering fresh hope for healing one of Europe\u2019s most enduring frozen conflicts.<\/p>\n Espen Barth Eide was speaking to media after a meeting between Greek\u00a0Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ak\u0131nc\u0131. It was their first encounter since Ak\u0131nc\u0131 swept to victory in a Turkish Cypriot election on April 26.<\/p>\n \u201cThey agreed it was important to use the momentum created and opportunity to move forward without delay,\u201d Eide told journalists outside a landmark hotel straddling a \u201cbuffer zone\u201d that has split the capital Nicosia for decades.<\/p>\n Once catering to Hollywood royalty, the Ledra Palace Hotel is now a shabby shadow of its former self, and is used as living quarters for British forces.<\/p>\n Eide said May 11 that the two leaders had agreed to meet on May 15 to have a \u201cgeneral exchange of views\u201d and discuss the modalities and structure of negotiations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a unique opportunity, an opportunity to be grasped,\u201d said Eide, a former Norwegian foreign minister.<\/p>\n Both sides officially agree in principle that the island should be united under a two-state federal umbrella, but past negotiations have foundered on issues such as the powers of a central government and the residency and property rights of thousands of internally displaced people.<\/p>\n The last major peace push collapsed in 2004, when Greek\u00a0Cypriots rejected a reunification blueprint accepted by the Turkish Cypriots.<\/p>\n In Ankara, Kotzias reiterated Greece\u2019s support of Turkey\u2019s membership in the European Union, but underscored that Athens favored seeing Turkey accept and implement all EU rules.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also want to see the EU acknowledging the richness of Turkey and the Turkish people. We want the EU to see and embrace Turkey\u2019s political views. I am of the opinion that the positive climate that will be nourished by supporting the resolutions in Cyprus and in the Aegean will constitute an inspiration for Turkish-Greek ties and for the entire region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Both Kotzias and Turkish Foreign Minister \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu also announced a fresh agreement on a package of confidence-building measures to avoid unwanted clashes that could increase tension in the Aegean Sea, in a move to launch a new era in bilateral ties.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have agreed on a number of confidence-building measures to prevent the occurrence of unwanted accidents as a result of military activities in the Aegean,\u201d \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu told reporters.<\/p>\n Kotzias said the agreement included nine technical measures aimed at reducing the tension in the Aegean Sea and resolving existing problems between the two countries. The ministers did not provide details about the measures that they will take in the Aegean.<\/p>\n \u201cOur main objective is to make the Turkish and Greek\u00a0peoples come closer together, to improve relations, and to turn the Aegean into a sea of friendship \u2026 We are continuing our efforts to resolve existing problems between the two countries through dialogue. We will resume exploratory talks,\u201d \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu said.<\/p>\n The decade-old exploratory talks have aimed to find a negotiated solution to the existing problems over the Aegean Sea, including defining the continental shelf, territorial waters and airspace.<\/p>\n Kotzias underlined that Turkey and Greece\u00a0stood as \u201celements of stability\u201d in the region, with a joint demand to resolve the problems stemming from the Aegean Sea.<\/p>\n Tsipras-Davuto\u011flu in accord \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The Greek\u00a0foreign minister also had separate meetings with President Recep\u00a0Tayyip Erdogan\u00a0and Prime Minister Ahmet\u00a0Davutoglu\u00a0as part of his visit to Turkey.<\/p>\n \u201cMy impression is that Davuto\u011flu and [Greek Prime Minister Alexis] Tsipras are on the same wavelength. Both are young and are reading the international environment well. Tsipras will come to Turkey with pleasure. I am not a member of any political party in\u00a0Greece\u00a0but I think both countries are lucky to have such prime ministers,\u201d Kotzias said.<\/p>\n He also added that officials from two countries\u2019 interior and justice ministries would soon come together to discuss illegal human trafficking, an issue of concern for both sides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n May\/12\/2015<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Turkey and Greece\u00a0have expressed hope over soon-to-begin reunification talks in Cyprus, welcoming a decision by both parties to restart negotiations after pro-solution Mustafa Ak\u0131nc\u0131\u2019s election as the new Turkish Cypriot president. \u201cThe resumption of negotiations is an important development. We have the will for a settlement in Cyprus. I would like to express my belief […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":87778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[1018],"class_list":["post-109758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-recep-tayyip-erdogan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe visiting Greek\u00a0minister also said the current situation introduced a fresh opportunity for a permanent solution to the Cyprus question.<\/p>\n