Greece, Serbia and Cyprus agree to collaborate in the Mediterranean region

The foreign ministers of Greece, Serbia and Cyprus affirmed their commitment to collaborate in the Balkans and the Mediterranean region, during their first trilateral meeting in Belgrade on Monday.

During the press conference, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias thanked his Serbian counterpart Nicola Selakovic for welcoming the Greece-Albania initiative to resolve the two countries’ maritime zones issue in the framework of International law.

"International law is the framework: it is upon this that we are building our friendships, our relations with other countries. And I must say that it is very easy, when we are talking with a country like Serbia, given that our histories are intertwined through the centuries. We have stood by each other on many occasions and in difficult circumstances," he said.

Dendias also said Greece supports the natural gas interconnection of Serbia with Bulgaria, which will eventually be connected to the Greece-Bulgaria pipeline and later to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

Referring to the issue of Greece and Cyprus being migration frontline countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Greek minister stressed that Turkey needs to comply with the 2016 agreement.

"Turkey is obliged, first of all, to control migration flows from its territory, and beyond that, it must accept returns from the EU. I think that Turkey needs to strengthen its border control and fully comply with its 2016 agreement with the EU,” he added.

On his part, Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides underlined that a solution to the Cyprus issue must be pursued on the basis of establishing a bizonal, bicommunal federation, without external interventions.

According to reports, the next meeting between the three foreign ministers will be held in Thessaloniki.

*More on GCT: Dendias warns from Serbia that Turkey seeks to influence Balkans through economy and religion