Türkiye and Greece will never run out of differences, however, these disagreements should be handled better, Ankara’s Ambassador to Athens Burak Özügergin said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters in Athens during a reception held ahead of the 99th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye on Oct. 29, Özügergin said: "I can guarantee you that we will never run out of differences or disagreements between the two sides of the Aegean. But it seems to me that we should agree to handle our differences better."
"We must constantly repeat to ourselves that not every disagreement should create enemies," he added.
Referring to recent public opinion polls, which showed that the people of Greece and Türkiye do not harbor hostile feelings toward each other, Özügergin said: "I guess that's a good start! It just goes to show that you really shouldn't believe what you read in the papers."
The reception held in the embassy's garden in central Athens was attended by a distinguished crowd, including Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Kostas Fragogiannis, main opposition SYRIZA party deputy Kostas Zachariadis, diplomats and academics.
Having completed his four-year tenure in Greece, Özügergin will soon be succeeded by another career diplomat Çağatay Erciyes.
Türkiye and Greece are at odds over a number of issues, including competing claims over jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, overlapping claims over their continental shelves, maritime boundaries, airspace, energy, the ethnically split island of Cyprus, the status of the islands in the Aegean Sea and migrants.
Ankara accuses Athens of illegally militarizing Greek islands in the Eastern Aegean and questions Greece’s sovereignty over them. There is also a dispute over the exploitation of mineral resources in the Aegean.
