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Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu in Athens for talks

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (left) gestures during a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Dimitris Droutsas in Athens on Tuesday

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met the Greek prime minister and foreign minister in Athens Tuesday as part of ongoing efforts to sweeten relations between the two regional rivals and uneasy NATO allies.
Davutoglu’s talks with his Greek counterpart Dimitris Droutsas and Prime Minister George Papandreou included the delineation of the Aegean Sea continental shelf, from the northern land border in Thrace to the southern Greek island of Kastellorizo, just off the Turkish coast.
“It is an honest, serious effort … a real opportunity for our two countries,” Droutsas told a press conference.
The issue, which will determine each neighbour’s rights for exploration and exploitation of potential mineral and fossil fuel deposits, has been among the most contentious in bilateral relations.
Turkish Foreign Ministry statements in recent weeks have linked Ankara’s enforcement of the pact to the relaxation of visa laws for Turkish citizens traveling within the EU. Davutoglu highlighted “our deep disappointment about the visa applications. “We want everyone to travel freely between Turkey and Greece and between Turkey and EU countries and get to know each other better,” Davutoglu said.
Droutsas said he backed the visa talks.
The two ministers also agreed that their two countries would cooperate in providing humanitarian aid to strife-torn Libya.
After his meetings in Athens, Davutoglu is to travel Wednesday to northeastern Greece, home to the country’s 120,000-strong Muslim minority, which is based mainly in the region of Thrace.
Davutoglu’s visit to the towns of Xanthi, Komotini, Alexandroupoli, Kavala and Thessaloniki has been billed as a private extension to the official trip.

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