11.02.2026 19:10
Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis and President Erdoğan, who came to Ankara for the new meeting of the Turkey-Greece 6th High-Level Cooperation Council, spoke at a joint press conference. Erdoğan stated, "In our meeting with Mitsotakis, we once again addressed our positions regarding the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean openly and sincerely. Our issues in the Aegean and the Mediterranean are not unsolvable. As two NATO members and neighboring countries, we must keep the channels of dialogue open."
In a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who came to Ankara, President Erdoğan stated, "Our problems in the Aegean and Mediterranean are not unsolvable."
GREEK PRIME MINISTER MITSOTAKIS IN ANKARA
President Erdoğan welcomed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the entrance of the Presidential Complex. Erdoğan and Mitsotakis posed for a photo in front of Turkish and Greek flags on the stairs. President Erdoğan then proceeded to meet with Mitsotakis.
JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE BY ERDOĞAN AND MITSOTAKIS
After their bilateral meeting, Erdoğan and Mitsotakis chaired the Turkey-Greece 6th High-Level Cooperation Council Interdelegation Meeting Session. President Erdoğan and Mitsotakis will later attend the signing ceremony of agreements and make statements at the joint press conference.
Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements are as follows:
"I visited Athens on December 7, 2023. We recorded our consensus on keeping the dialogue channel open and developing our relations with the Athens Declaration. We see that high-level contacts provide us with a favorable ground in this regard.
We continue to work towards our goal of increasing our bilateral trade, which reached approximately 7 billion dollars last year, to 10 billion dollars. Today, the business councils of the two countries came together. In our meeting with the Prime Minister, we addressed our positions regarding the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean openly and sincerely. In this regard, we have been advocating for a long time that the existing issues, while complex, are not unsolvable based on international law. As long as there is goodwill, constructiveness, and a willingness to solve. I was pleased to see that we agree on this matter.
I believe that progress can be made in finding solutions to the interconnected problems in the Aegean. I once again shared our expectations regarding the fight against terrorism and organized crime with the Prime Minister. We need to act with a sense of historical responsibility regarding minorities, which constitute the human element of our relations. I shared our expectations with the Prime Minister regarding the full enjoyment of religious freedom and education by the Turkish minority in Western Thrace.
Turkey and Greece are facing developments that pose a threat to security and stability. As Turkey, I believe it is in our mutual interest to be part of the defense initiatives launched in Europe. I discussed Gaza and regional developments with the Prime Minister. We reject Israel's recent decisions aimed at weakening the Palestinian administration. The stance of our country and our brother countries is clear, like that of the leading countries in the world."