Greek FM backs Erdoğan's visit, says was restart for ties

Greece's foreign minister Friday said the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit last week was "a restart" for relations between the neighboring countries.

Nikos Kotzias was speaking at Greek parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after some opposition lawmakers requested an explanation over Erdoğan's historic visit last week. It was the first visit by a sitting Turkish president in 65 years. "If you want to discuss Turkish-Greek relations and build a peaceful coexistence of the two states, the center of power today is Erdoğan," Kotzias said, answering a question from lawmakers, who had described the visit as a fiasco for Greece.

"We agreed to establish all channels of dialogue, including intergovernmental and exploratory talks within three months. This is a restart," Kotzias said. He also lashed out at opposition lawmakers, saying their claims were "typical extremist attitudes" that fuel ultra-nationalism and the far-right. "A visit does not solve all the problems, but we took steps forward," he said.