ANKARA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul has sent messages to former Foreign Minister George Papandreou and new Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis of Greece.
In his message to Moliviatis, Gul said on Wednesday, ''on the occasion of your appointment as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations. Thanks to the will of the politicians and the support of the peoples of the two countries, Turkey and Greece did manage to leave behind a longstanding period of tension and mistrust. We are indeed very happy to see that the process of dialogue and cooperation between Turkey and Greece has been expanding steadily since 1999. However, we still have challenging tasks ahead.''
''What we have accomplished so far demonstrates that if two countries can discuss their differences, respect each other's sensitivities and explore the opportunities together, then, they can create the suitable environment for progress. I have no doubt that the consensus on widening and deepening the Turkish-Greek relationship will remain and the policies we are pursuing persist during the tenure of the new Government in Greece,'' he said.
Meanwhile, Gul sent a message to PanHellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) leader Papandreou saying, ''as Greece is moving for a change of government, I would like to reiterate our appreciation for the substantial contribution of both PASOK and yourself to the enhancement of Turkish-Greek relations. Especially, your personal vision and close involvement had an important role in the replacement of mistrust with mutual confidence and confrontation with cooperation between the two countries. The outcome of the elections has given PASOK the responsibility of being the main opposition. I am confident that as the leader of PASOK, your positive approach and efforts to improve Turkish-Greek relations in every sphere will continue unabated during the coming years. Therefore, I am looking forward to your cooperation in the future.''
(UK-AÖ) 10.03.2004