Turkey, Greece cement ties, seek ways to resume Cyprus peace talks

The two neigbors have committed to develop closer ties in various fields and make more effords to resume Cyprus peace talks at the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's visit to Athens Turkey and Greece have reiterated their commitment to further develop bilateral ties through cooperation in various fields, including supplying natural gas to European markets, while intensifying their efforts to resume Cyprus reunification talks as two guarantor countries.

Turkey and Greece held a High-Level Strategic Council meeting in Greece over the weekend under the co-chairmanship of the countries' two prime ministers, Ahmet Davutoğlu and Antonis Samaras, with the participation of nine Turkish and 10 Greek ministers.

"On Cyprus, we want negotiations to begin as soon as possible. We held very positive talks [with Greece]. They will continue. We embrace the approaches that put our mutual interests forward in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the Aegean," Prime Minister Davutoğlu said at a joint press conference on Dec. 6 in Athens. Davutoğlu expressed his wishes for a quick recovery for Greek Cypriot President Nikos Anastiasadis, who recently underwent cardiac surgery, and stressed that Turkey prioritizes the re-commencement of suspended talks between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots.

Greek Cyprus had announced in October the suspension of peace talks as a result of a crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean, which was sparked after it accelerated oil exploration drills off Cyprus. Turkey sent the seismic research vessel Barbaros to nearby regions for its own oil exploration and deployed a warship to closely follow the activities of a Greek Cyprus platform in the island's disputed economic zone.   

Greek Prime Minister...