Turkey sees “no problem” on ecumenic title for Greek Orthodox Patriarch

15/5/2010

Turkish PM Erdogan said he would not be bothered if the Greek Orthodox patriarch in Istanbul was called by the title “ecumenic”.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not be bothered if the Greek Orthodox patriarch in Istanbul was called by the title “ecumenic”.

“I won’t be bothered. It does not bother me if it did not bother my ancestors,” Erdogan said in response to question at a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart George Papandreou in Athens.

“I had plans to include on board our religious affairs director, Huseyin Bardakoglu, and Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew on my visit to Greece, if it were not for Bardakoglu’s busy schedule,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan said Turkish Foreign Ministry records showed that there were around 50 thousand Turkish citizen Greeks living outside Turkey, adding that Turkey’s stance toward them were positive.

“They may come to Turkey and live in our country. Because they are already our citizens. We feel comfortable with them living in Turkey for our country is a home for many different cultures,” Erdogan said.

AA

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