On relations between Turkey and Greece

Greek Prime Minister Konstandinos Simitis said on Saturday in Athens that Turkey did not take any step to improve relations between the two sides despite the good initiative made by the Greek government during the devastating earthquake which hit certain Turkish areas last August.

Simitis was quoted by reporters as saying following his meeting with his Finnish counterpart, Paavo Lipponen, that Turkish-Greek relations were recently surrounded by an unprecedented atmosphere, but Turkey did not translate that into a tangible action.

The Greek minister added that the country, which is a candidate for European Union membership, should abstain from creating tensions with another country from the EU members.

The Finnish prime minister, whose country is presiding over the current rotating presidency of the European Union, is currently visiting Greece in the course of a tour he is making of several EU member states.