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Erdoğan, Mitsotakis to meet in Istanbul on March 13 to discuss regional issues

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will hold a high-level meeting with Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Istanbul on March 13 to discuss the regional issues including Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Reuters WORLD
Published March 08,2022
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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul on March 13, the Greek government spokesman said on Tuesday.

The two leaders are expected to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Greece and Turkey, NATO allies, disagree on a range of issues from airspace to maritime zones in the eastern Mediterranean, migration and ethnically split Cyprus.

"In these difficult circumstances globally, the two countries despite our differences, are faced with common challenges on a range of issues," government spokesman Yannis Oikonomou told reporters. "These challenges need to be dealt with in a logic of solving problems and not of adding new ones."

He added that "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed the reality regarding security in Europe but has also highlighted the international community's conviction of any form of expansionism and revisionism".

After a five year hiatus, Greece and Turkey agreed last year to resume exploratory talks to address their differences in the Mediterranean but little progress has been made so far.

Oikonomou said that Mitsotakis would attend the meeting with Erdoğan in a "positive mood",