Greek, Turkish FMs pledge to boost bilateral cooperation

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Sunday reaffirmed their intention to further enhance bilateral cooperation to the benefit of the two neighboring countries and the wider region.

In his first visit to an European Union country after July's failed coup attempt in Turkey, Cavusoglu travelled to Greece's Crete island for a few hours, accepting a long pending invitation by Kotzias who had visited Turkey in February.

On the agenda of their discussions, according to Greek Foreign Ministry sources, was a wide range of topics concerning bilateral ties and regional and international challenges, such as the refugee crisis.

In joint statements to Greek national news agency AMNA following the talks, both officials stressed the determination of both sides to deepen dialogue for the resolution of problems.

Kotzias expressed once again the "solidarity of Greek people with the Turkish people who fought the coup attempt."

On his part, the Turkish Minister expressed the Turkish people's gratitude for "the clear stance of Greece's government and the support of Greek people."

Although no comments were made on the record, the two officials also discussed the issue of the eight Turkish military officers who fled to Greece in a helicopter one day after the coup attempt and applied for asylum in Greece, according to the same sources.

The issue is testing the relations between the two countries. Ankara has formally requested their extradition, while Greek authorities are reviewing the asylum claims. The procedure is expected to end this week.

The eight officers are strongly denying any involvement in the coup attempt. In case their requests will be rejected in Athens, they intend to claim asylum in other countries, their lawyer told Xinhua in a recent interview. Enditem