Greece’s newly elected Prime Minister pays first foreign visit to Turkey
Licensed archive · Attributed source reporting
411 Brief
George Papandreou, the new Greek Prime Minister, paid his first foreign visit to neighbouring Turkey on Friday. Papandreou arrived in Istanbul to attend an informal Balkan countries' ministerial meeting. He first visited the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, where he said both countries must work together to unify Cyprus. Bartholomew said Papandreou's arrival in Turkey for his first foreign visit is very important for Greek–Turkish relations, which are tense due to Cyprus and Aegean Sea disputes. Later, he met with the Tur
George Papandreou, the new Greek Prime Minister, paid his first foreign visit to neighbouring Turkey on Friday. Papandreou arrived in Istanbul to attend an informal Balkan countries' ministerial meeting.
He first visited the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, where he said both countries must work together to unify Cyprus. Bartholomew said Papandreou's arrival in Turkey for his first foreign visit is very important for Greek–Turkish relations, which are tense due to Cyprus and Aegean Sea disputes.
Later, he met with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. The two prime ministers appreciated the ongoing reunification talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. He also visited his then-counterpart and friend İsmail Cem's tomb at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
Sources & reporting note
Licensed archive reporting by Wikinews contributors. Text: CC BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/). Original source date retained. 411 has not independently verified this archive report.
Read the source: Wikinews ↗Source published 12 Oct 2009, 05:30 am IST
