The Alternate Foreign Minister, Mr.Yiannos Kranidiotis, quoted in a survey published by the German daily "Die Woche", stressed that "Greece's assistance to the Turkish people is necessary and goes without saying," adding that "the earthquake and the assistance should not be linked to the issue o f the solution of problems between the two countries.
Those should be resolved based on international law and agreements, while the Cyprus problem must be resolved on the basis of UN resolutions and decisions.
"Turkey should focus on overcoming its internal weaknesses and problems and abandon its expansionist designs on Cyprus and the AegeanÉ" Finally, in relation to Turkey's EU accession prospects, Mr. Kranidiotis insisted on "the same conditions applying to all states that wish to join the European institutions."
With regard to E.U. accession, he added that "Turkey could not be an exception and that there were no reasons for special treatment".