Erdoğan speaks about his visit to Greece
Turkish President Erdoğan made evaluations to journalists on the plane on his return to Türkiye after attending the World Climate Action Summit.
Answering the questions of journalists on the plane, Erdoğan made evaluations about his visit to Athens on Thursday, 7 December.
Regarding the statement of Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, "Co-operation with Turkey is a must." "What do you think this means? Especially after the High Level Cooperation Council meeting, will a new era start between the two countries?" Answering the question, President Erdoğan said, "We hope that a new era will start."
Reminding that he always said, "We are trying to increase friends and decrease enemies", President Erdoğan made the following assessment about the visit on 7 December:
"I believe that it is useful to say these to him very clearly in our bilateral meeting, as I have said before. Because when you call out from Turkey, that sound can be heard from Kos Island. It is not right for two countries, which are so close in distance, so intertwined in terms of their history, to still walk with voices fuelling enmity. When we look at this point, someone, especially the United States of America, is trying to pit us against each other. While we are not given our F-16s even though we have paid for them, Greece is still sending F-16s and ammunition to Greece. Just because America is doing this, we probably have no reason to retreat. We visit our neighbour next to us, we sit down and talk. If we do not engage in attitudes that harm each other's interests, there is no problem. We continue on our way exactly the same. Of course, we have differences of opinion and there are deep issues that cannot be solved in a snap. But there are also topics that we can solve immediately and expand the ground for cooperation. If we start a new era, keep our promises and develop these relations on a level free from external influences, I am sure that we will benefit. Our understanding of foreign policy is not 'I always win and the other loses'. We will go to Athens with a 'win-win' understanding. There we will discuss both our bilateral relations and Turkey-European Union relations in order to take decisions worthy of the spirit of the new era."
