Greece supports Turkey's bid for EU

PanARMENIAN.Net - Greece supports Turkey's bid for the European Union membership, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Saturday in Ankara after a meeting with her Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan.



"I assured Mr. Babacan that Greece supports and would continue to support Turkey's perspective regarding Europe," she said, adding that Turkey becoming an EU member would mean that the country has fulfilled EU criteria. "Moreover, such a development would bring stability and development to the entire region."



Babacan, for his part, said that both Turkey and Greece had a positive approach towards each other currently, adding, "while our political, economic and cultural relations improve rapidly, we talk about our problems openly and we try to find solutions," Xinhua news agency reports.



Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis paid his first visit to Turkey in January 28. He called on Turkey to meet its commitments to the European Union, which suspended membership talks in December 2006 over the Cyprus problem.



The talks on some items were resumed last June.