The Wednesday meeting in Brussels between Foreign Minister George Katrougalos and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu took place in a positive atmosphere, according to diplomatic sources.

According to the same sources, who were quoted by the Athens News Agency, the talks between the two foreign ministers were substantive and focused on building a climate of confidence.

The two men had earlier been tasked with the creation of concrete “confidence-building measures” or CBMs, which will lay the groundwork for future dialogue between the two countries.

The two men also helped lay out the preparations for the next bilateral meeting, which will take place in Antalya on Thursday, March 21. The two ministers made no statements after the meeting.

Earlier, Greek Foreign Minister Katrougalos had said, “The first goal is for tensions to subside, and this has to a large extent been achieved; a meeting between the defense ministers has taken place, talks are taking place at a staff level on promoting CBMs.”

Katrougalos stated that progress on the Cyprus issue “is not up to us.” Rather, he said, it depends on the other side “showing that it intends to conform with the obligations that arise through United Nations resolutions.”

Athens had presented its positions at Crans Montana, the minister added, while pointing out that the Cyprus issue was not a bilateral but an international issue, concerning the upholding of international law.

Source: http://greece.greekreporter.com/category/greek-news/tourism/