The Greek capital, Athens, hosted a friendship forum that brought together the foreign ministers of Greece, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Emirates, Bahrain and Cyprus, in addition to French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who participated in this meeting via video.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that his country's ambition is to become a bridge between the eastern Mediterranean, the Gulf, the Balkans and Europe, and to contribute to strengthening ties, in particular in the fields of energy and security.
The meeting was titled "Philia Forum" or Friendship Forum, and aims, according to Athena, to "build friendship, peace and prosperity in the region."
The statement issued after the forum expressed the willingness of the participating countries to promote joint measures and initiatives in areas such as energy, innovation, digital economy, civil protection and people-to-people contact.
The statement mentioned that views were exchanged on the main international and regional issues, especially the developments of the peace process in the Middle East, the Cyprus issue, and the files of Syria, Libya, Yemen and the Eastern Mediterranean, stressing the importance of a peaceful solution to differences.
Turkish position
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that no forum in which neither Ankara nor the Turkish Cypriots participated could establish a mechanism for friendship or cooperation in a successful and effective manner to solve the problems of the region.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry added in a statement that the statements of the Greek Foreign Minister indicate that the forum is an attempt to establish an alliance on the basis of hostility to Turkey.
The statement indicated that this anti-Turkish stance came at a period in which Ankara was seeking to establish sincere and comprehensive cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean region thanks to Turkey's proposal to hold an international conference in this context, and that it would impede the efforts of unity in the Mediterranean by the European Union.