Greek PM to make rare official visit to Turkey

ATHENS, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will visit Turkey next week, the first official visit by a Greek premier since 1959, in what the Greek government said on Thursday was part of its drive to strengthen bilateral ties.

Karamanlis’ uncle, Constantine Karamanlis, was the last Greek prime minister to visit Turkey in his official role, though unofficial visits have taken place since.

“The Greek government seeks the continued improvement of relations between the two countries and we are working towards that goal,” deputy government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros told reporters.

During the Jan. 23-25 visit, Karamanlis will go to Ankara and Istanbul. In November, he inaugurated a pipeline on the border with his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan.

Relations have improved since the two NATO allies came to the brink of war in 1996 over a deserted Aegean island, but tensions remain over the divided island of Cyprus, territorial problems and minorities.

Greece says it supports Turkey‘s bid to join the European Union provided Ankara meets its EU obligations. (Reporting by Dina Kyriakidou, editing by Tim Pearce)