Mitsotakis and Erdogan meet in Washington

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed that the relative calm in bilateral relations is mutually beneficial and should continue.

The two men met for less than an hour on Wednesday evening on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington. In addition to bilateral relations, they discussed developments in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Mitsotakis expressed satisfaction with the cooperation between the two countries in the fight against illegal immigration.

But he also referred to Cyprus, saying the island could not remain divided any longer and that reunification negotiations must resume.

Turkey has occupied the northern third of the island since 1974, when it invaded in response to a coup orchestrated by the then Greek military regime.

Erdogan and Mitsotakis agreed to take further steps in bilateral trade, with a view to doubling the volume of trade. They also agreed to meet again in September, during the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Also present at the meeting were the two foreign ministers, Hakan Fidan and George Gerapetritis, as well as the two leaders’ top foreign policy advisers, Akif Cagatay Kilic and Anna-Maria Boura.