Dialogue is essential for a lasting peace

As the international stage thrums with tension from the war in Ukraine, strain in the Balkans, civil wars in Africa and the new tragedy unfolding in the Middle East, Greek-Turkish cooperation and dialogue acquire fresh political dimensions.

The Greek-Turkish relationship should and could become an element of stability in the wider region; despite the well-known differences dividing us, this has been accomplished in the past.

The two countries have worked together to douse crises in the Balkans, and in the Middle East, too, we took the initiative, with [Turkish foreign minister] Ismail Cem, to visit Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, during what was one of the worst periods of tension between the two.

This novel relationship stemmed from the historic decisions reached at the 1999 European Union...