Def. Min. Apostolakis meets with counterparts from Turkey and North Macedonia

Apostolakis said that the meeting with Akar is a direct consequence of Prime Minister Tsipras's recent visit to Ankara, where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"We discussed bilateral issues and the implementation of the 1988 Papoulia-Yilmaz memorandum," Apostolakis said.

"We also agreed to schedule, in the near future, a meeting between delegations from the two countries in order to establish a framework within which trust-building measures can be underrtaken," he added.

Concerning his meeting with Defence Minister of North Macedonia Radmila Sekerinska, Apostolakis said that the conversation centered on issues related to the implementation of article 17 of the Prespes Agreememt and on the possibility of uprgading the existing bilateral program of militay cooperation with a view to North Macedonia's accession to NATO.

In this context, Apostolakis explained, "I made it clear that the Greek armed forces could assist those of our neighbour country" to achieve a "quick and smooth adjustment to the Alliance."