Altun attends the Turkish - Greek Media and Academy Forum via video message

Attending the Turkish-Greek Media and Academy Forum organised by the Turkish Studies Foundation and the Institute of Global Affairs in the capital Athens via video message, Fahrettin Altun, Head of Communications of the Turkish Presidency, emphasised that a new page was opened in relations with the Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good Neighbourliness signed between the two countries on 7 December.

Recalling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's official visit to Athens on 7 December as part of the High Level Cooperation Council Meeting, Altun said, "I believe that we have opened a new page in our relations thanks to the Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good Neighbourliness. I believe that this common will will create many cooperation opportunities on the basis of mutual trust, which will be beneficial for our countries and our region. As the Republic of Turkey, we believe that we have no problems that cannot be overcome with our close neighbours like Greece, with whom we share a common history and a similar culture."

Stating that he has seen that there are many opportunities and possibilities to increase bilateral cooperation between Turkey and Greece in many fields such as economy, trade, transport, energy, health, technology, education and youth and that he is very pleased with this situation, Altun pointed out that media members, academics and NGO representatives have a great duty and responsibility to keep the communication channels open between the two countries.

Altun said, "As you will appreciate, in recent years, many ethical principles and many established rules in the field of communication and media have been tried to be removed from the agenda and discredited. We should build a new approach in the field of communication and media against such attempts that damage the bond between Türkiye and Greece as well as the world public opinion with the truth, the right, the moral and humanitarian, and we should be on the side of the truth."

Turkish Ambassador to Athens Çağatay Erciyes and Deputy Foreign Minister Kostas Frangoyannis also attended the forum.

AA