Davutoglu: "The old Greek-Turkish paradigm is a thing of the past"

Despite decades of antagonism between the two countries, Turkey no longer sees Greece as a threat, and it expects its Aegean neighbor to take a similar stand, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday. "We need a new paradigm in Turkish-Greek relations, a paradigm under which we can build a future together," Davutoglu told reporters in Greece, visiting to lay the groundwork for this summer's Turkey-Greece High Level Strategic Council meeting in Istanbul. During his visit, Davutoglu held meetings with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and Foreign Minister Dimitrios Droutsas. "We should look at our common history not in a confrontational way, but peacefully," he said. Davutoglu ignored recent negative remarks by Papandreou, and instead stressed cooperation and "peaceful language" in bilateral ties. Davutoglu said both countries should show the will to solve their problems. "Come to Turkey as if it were your home, make Turkish friends," he said. Davutoglu said Ankara's proposed new paradigm with Greece "has no ulterior motives, distrust, or secret concerns."