Turkish Foreign Ministry: The US and European sanctions have nothing to do with Turkey’s call for dialogue with Greece

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşolu confirmed, on Monday, that the sanctions imposed by the United States of America and the European Union on Turkey do not mean anything to it, pointing out that “the sanctions have nothing to do with Turkey’s call for dialogue with Greece.”

This came in a joint press conference held with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, after their meeting in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Çavuşolu added, “We are not a country that fears sanctions. If we were afraid, we would not have taken the previous steps. But we believe that we must continue with positive, reciprocal steps with the European Union and the European Union.

The minister emphasized that the reason for Turkey’s call for dialogue with Greece is not due to fear of sanctions, noting that Turkey is tired of the negative speech of Greece, and that the European Union has a strong desire to solve the issue in the eastern Mediterranean.

He pointed out that Turkey’s relations with the European Union have entered a positive atmosphere, and that Turkey is ready for dialogue with Greece and discussing all outstanding issues between the two countries, in the meeting to be held at the end of this January.

On the 14th of last month, the United States announced the imposition of some sanctions on Turkey for providing it with the Russian S-400 air defense missile system.

The Turkish and Greek foreign ministries agreed to hold the 61st round of exploratory talks in Istanbul on January 25.
It is noteworthy that the first exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey began in Ankara in 2002, and until 2016 the two parties held 60 rounds of meetings, then stopped due to Greece’s intransigence in its policies after Tsipras took over as prime minister there.

The exploratory talks between the two countries aim to discuss ways to solve the outstanding problems in the eastern Mediterranean region within the framework of a diplomatic solution, and to find just solutions regarding differences over the main regional water issues, the continental shelf of the Aegean Sea, the disarmament of the islands, exclusive economic zones and areas of jurisdiction of Turkish Northern Cyprus And other matters.
At the beginning of this year, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that Turkey plays an important role in solving the problems of the European Union, stressing that Turkey and the Union have come to a stage where they cannot dispense with each other.

Source: Agencies