Patriarch Bartholomew Praises Erdogan During Meeting With Papandreou / Православие.Ru

İstanbul, Marth 26, 2012

Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew praised Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his meeting with former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in March, according to recently revealed details.

Visiting Turkey to attend the Socialist International’s (SI) meeting on the Arab Spring, which was held in İstanbul on March 23-24, Former Greek Prime Minister and Socialist International President Papandreou visited both Erdoğan and Bartholomew on March 22 in İstanbul.

According to “Todays Zaman”, the details of the Bartholomew-Papandreou meeting, which the Turkish media reported on Sunday, reveal that Bartholomew praised Erdoğan during the meeting. Bartholomew reportedly told Papandreou: “Thanks to the courageous governing policies of Prime Minister Erdoğan and his government, we have gotten relief on many issues. Conditions for the patriarchate [the İstanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate], Greeks and other minorities are much better than they were previously.”