Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Sunday, 13 March.
The Athenian Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) quoted Greek government spokesman Yiannis Economou who said Mr Mitsotakis, who would be in the city to celebrate the Feast of Orthodoxy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, had accepted an invitation to dinner with the Turkish president.
“Both countries are facing common challenges. The prime minister will go to the meeting with a positive attitude and without illusions or divergences from the known positions, which are based on international law,” Mr Economou said.
“Honesty and consistency over time are the chief guarantees for the survival of peoples. The unity of the Greeks is unbroken. With its stance regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Greece proves its commitment to international law. It made clear its position against the Russian invasion from the very start. We are again on the right side of history. Revisionist thinking can’t be tolerated from any party.”
Speaking about the measures taken to protect ethnic Greeks in the Ukraine, Mr Economou said: “Greece accepts and will continue to accept refugees from Ukraine. Greece will provide the Ukrainian refugees with an emergency 12-month residence permit.”
He also pointed that the Russian invasion of its neighbour was creating price increases that the Greek government was working to counter.
“The Russian invasion is triggering major turbulence. Great difficulties lie ahead of us. The government is making every possible effort to mitigate the negative repercussions from the unprecedented hikes in energy rates. With a plan, we will support the citizens in the face of the difficulties that lie before us,” Mr Economou said.
