Venizelos in NY, Meets With Davutoglu, and Kosovo's Thaci

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An array of issues including bilateral affairs, Cyprus, sea zones, the Syrian crisis and the upcoming Greek presidency of the European Union (first half of 2014) were discussed on Monday between the government Vice President and Foreign Minister of Greece Evangelos Venizelos and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Ministerial Week of the 68th United Nations General Assembly, in New York.

    "It is very important for the two countries to act in a coordinated way in our common space, which is the Mediterranean and South-East Europe. Our common goal is of course to bring stability to the region. So, the first issues we discussed touched upon the situation in Syria and Egypt. Our perception is that Egypt should achieve stability and full restoration of democratic institutions," Venizelos said.

Venizelos also met with Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Foreign Minister Εnver Hoxha and discussed the Western Balkans' Euroatlantic prospects, as well as the priorities of the upcoming Greek EU presidency. After the trilateral meeting (on 22.9) between the Foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, Venizelos pointed that Greece, which is holding the next EU rotating presidency, is "ready to convey the needs and requests of the Egyptian side."

Addressing the UNGA High Level meeting on Millennium Development Goals and Persons with Disabilities, the Greek Foreign Minister pointed out that, despite the economic crisis, Greece has already signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, and is working on the implementation of the conventional obligation provided therein. (Greek news agenda)