Karamanlis ends visit to Turkey

The first official visit of a Greek prime minister to Turkey in decades has come to an end. Michael Martens weighs the results: "They're talking again. That seems pretty minimal, but actually, given the difficult neighbourhood they're in, it's worth a lot. ... Erdogan and Karamanlis, who get along quite well personally, were both re-elected last year. They now probably have a few years of governing ahead of them, Erdogan with a clear majority in parliament and Karamanlis with a narrow one. Time is ripe for courageous decisions, particularly regarding the contentious issue of Cyprus. Together, Athens and Ankara could design the constructive division of Cyprus based on the 2004 UN referendum that at least the Greeks of the island supported, instead of making the mistake of continuing their vain attempts to cancel it. It is not necessary to add on the recognition of Northern Cyprus by international law."

» to the homepage (external link, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » Greece, » Turkey
All available articles from » Michael Martens

» To the complete press review of Monday, January 28, 2008