Turkish FM congratulates new Greek counterpart

ANKARA

Turkey's foreign minister congratulated his newly appointed Greek counterpart in a phone call, according to diplomatic sources.         

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke to Nikos Dendias, who was appointed as new foreign minister on July 8 evening, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.         

In a Twitter post, Çavuşoğlu said: “We worked at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe together with him [Dendias] for long years. Now, we will work together with him to further enhance the Turkish-Greek relations and our cooperation.”         

With 99.92% of the votes counted, Greece's conservative New Democracy party won snap elections held on July 7.           

According to Greece's Interior Ministry, New Democracy got 39.85% of votes and 158 seats in the 300-seat parliament, giving New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis an absolute majority to form a government of his own.         

Mitsotakis was sworn in as Greece's new prime minister on July 8. The new Cabinet was also announced on July 8 evening.   

Turkey hopes for a new era in ties with the new Greek government to be formed under New Democracy Party (NDP) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis and one which will avoid fresh rows in Cyprus and the Aegean Sea, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, while vowing continued oil and gas drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean.

“I called him [Mitsotakis] yesterday and congratulated him. My wish is to run this new process with Greece in peace and in solidarity. After the polls, we will carry out our talks through our relevant officials. Our desire is not to experience any sort of difficulty in the Mediterranean and in the Aegean in the upcoming period,” Erdoğan told reporters on July 8.

Turkey regards Mitsotakis’ election as prime minister positive, with expectations that a new era could be launched. The former coalition government led by Tsipras had included ultra-right wing politicians, among whom a hawkish defense minister who caused tension between Ankara and Athens.

Erdoğan was one of the first leaders to congratulate Mitsotakis late July 7, in a sign of good relations for a new beginning. The Turkish president said he hopes the results will contribute to the relations between the two countries and to regional prosperity, presidential sources have said.