Turkey regards strange Greek fm's remarks about the country

ANKARA (A.A) - February 20, 2012 - Turkey regarded strange Greek foreign minister's remarks about the country on Sunday. A Foreign Ministry statement said that it regarded strange Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Dimas' remarks about Turkey in a speech he made on February 16. "We have regarded strange Dimas' remarks about Turkey," the statement said. Dimas and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen delivered speeches in a conference on marking 60 years of Greek membership of NATO. In his speech, Dimas said, "that being said, since the mid-1970s, Greece has faced a permanent threat from one of its Allies. NATO's silence during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus was resounding. Despite the fact that there have been ups and downs in Greek-Turkish relations, Turkey's systematic questioning of Greece's sovereign rights is seen by Greeks as a real and immediate threat." In its statement, the ministry said all concerned parties were aware of the importance Turkey attached to its relations with Greece, and Greek authorities' stance did not meet Turkey's expectations to boost bilateral relations on the occasion of 60th anniversary of the two countries' simultaneous participation in NATO. "Greek authorities claims and accusations do coincide with neither the spirit of alliance nor the positive course of our relations to which we are exerting great efforts," the statement said. The statement said Turkey believed current problems with Greece could be overcome, and would continue to exert efforts to find a lasting solutions to problems. "Turkey does not see multilateral cooperation platforms, particularly NATO, as a place to solve bilateral problems," the statement said. The statement also called on Greece to exert efforts to find a common solution to problems as two ally and friend countries.