Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu visited Greece yesterday and was received by his Greek counterpart, Dimitris Avramopoulos and by the Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras.

In a meeting with Samaras, the two men discussed Greek-Turkish relations as well as developments in the wider east Mediterranean region, particularly in Syria, while the Premier also raised the issue of illegal migration.

The same issues where discussed in the talks between the two foreign ministers. In statements following the meeting, Avramopoulos said that Greece and Turkey intend to resume High Level Cooperation Council meetings, with the next one taking place in January, 2013.

The minister reaffirmed Greece’s support for Turkey’s EU accession -which presupposes a just solution of the Cyprus issue based on the resolutions of the UN Security Council and on the European acquis- as well as its solidarity to the neighbouring country concerning the tension that has risen between Ankara and Damascus.

On his part, Davutoğlu noted that "[t]here may be differences -different approaches on some issues- but what is important is a common vision of the future, because when you have that, many problems can be resolved, and that is what I ascertained in my meetings..." Both ministers underlined the importance of tourism and of cooperation on economic and cultural issues as a means to advance relations between the two peoples.