Egemen Bagıs, former minister of European Affairs of Turkey and close collaborator of the Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, says that the reopening of the Theological School of Halki is possible.
As he mentioned in an interview to ANA-MPA, his optimism is based on the fact that “President Erdogan and Prime Minister Tsipras gave such a signal in their common press conference”.
He also stressed that “both sides shall gain much. It will be a win-win solution for all participants, Turkey, Greece and European Union, our allies, our citizens, the Turkish and Greek people”.
Concerning the tension in the Aegean, he points out that he never understood the reasoning of it, since both countries are members of NATO and should cooperate and not oppose each other.
Regarding Turkey’s European aspirations, he says that “it is a non political, national target” and he praises the support of Greece and the Greek commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos to the European course of his country, stressing that a Turkey in the European Union “would mean a more amiable and friendly neighbor for Greece”.