The meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN’s World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul lasted about 45 minutes.
Greek government sources commented that the talks were carried out in a warm and welcoming climate, with the EU-Turkey agreement and management of the refugee crisis being high up on Monday’s agenda.
The same sources added that the Greek PM was satisfied with implementation of the deal so far – since arrivals have been greatly reduced and human traffickers are being dealt with – however he noted that there are still problems that need to be addressed.
Aside from the refugee crisis, Prime Minister Tsipras expressed the Greek government’s frustration over the increased Turkish military aggression in the Aegean and violation of Greek airspace, with the two agreeing to further develop diplomatic ties to deescalate the tension.
Bilateral relations were also on the agenda – including the Supreme Council of Greek-Turkish Cooperation – with the two agreeing to develop ties in the energy, tourism and logistics sectors.
As expected, the Cypriot dispute was also on Monday’s agenda, with both leaders expressing their support for talks between Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mustafa Akinci.
