Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have an unofficial meeting at Cardiff on Thursday during one of the breaks of the annual NATO summit, according to reports in Athens, Greece. This “out of protocol” meeting was requested by the newly elected President of Turkey and, despite the fact that Athens seemed annoyed by statements he made during his visit yesterday to the occupied areas of Cyprus, the meeting was arranged and reports say that the two leaders will discuss bilateral matters in private at Cardiff. Erdogan chose the Turkish occupied areas of northern Cyprus for his first official visit as President. Speaking to Turkish and Turkish Cypriot journalists there, he accused Greece of “not being consistent with its obligations” towards the solution of the Cyprus problem, and for the re-opening of the Theological School of Chalki in Istanbul. He also said that a solution in Cyprus should be one “of two separate states,” and denied having received the official letter by Cyprus President Nikos Anastasiades that was handed to him by the Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos during his inauguration ceremony in Ankara. On Monday, a spokesman for the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Erdogan’s statements in occupied Cyprus were disappointing, and stressed that “Turkey cannot integrate Greece’s international obligations with the serious responsibilities that Turkey has for the situation in Cyprus.” Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will be accompanied in Wales by his Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Defence Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos. Cyprus President and Greek PM talked on the phone ahead of NATO Summit in Wales The President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades had on Wednesday a lengthy telephone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. According to a written announcement by Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides, the telephone conversation between the two men is part of the close cooperation scheme between Nicosia and Athens. It is added that the two men exchanged views on the ongoing UN-led talks for a Cyprus solution. They also agreed on the issues the Greek Premier will put forward during his contacts in Wales with a number of leaders, including Turkey`s President Erdoğan, the announcement concludes. (source: CNA)
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
