Greek government sources on Thursday expressed satisfaction with the signing of what’s now known as the “Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good Neighbourliness”, signed during a half-day working meeting to the Greek capital by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Turkish leader headed up a large delegation of Cabinet ministers and government officials, along with media representatives, for the fifth Greece-Turkey (Turkiye) high-level cooperation council (HLCC), which convened in Athens after a hiatus of seven years.
Sources that spoke to the state-run news agency referred to a “very important text”, as the signatures of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Erdogan were penned to an agreement committing to friendly relations and good neighborliness.
Additionally, the text cites the significance of effective channels of communication at all levels and emphasizes the prevention of conflicts and possible escalations.
Sources also noted that the declaration outlines the principles and milestones of Greek-Turkish dialogue and contacts based on the three axes, agreed to during Mitsotakis and Erdogan’s meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, last July.
Athens was also reportedly pleased that Ankara commits to UN Charter objectives and principles of the International Law, along friendly cooperation between the countries.
Finally, the Declaration of Athens doesn’t affect the standing position of either country on their respective legal interpretations.
Besides the high-profile meeting and press briefing by Mitsotakis and Erdogan, two other close-watched meetings were by Defense Minister Nikos Dendias with his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler, held at the armed forces officers’ club in downtown Athens.
Additionally, Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan held cordial meeting at the foreign ministry.
Gerapetritis was the Greek minister who welcomed Erdogan and the Turkish delegation at Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport.
