Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Kiril Petkov in Sofia on Monday.
In joint statements afterward, Mitsotakis congratulated Petkov on his election victory and spoke of a new period in cooperation between Greece and Bulgaria.
"I have found common ground in many issues. Athens and Sofia are launching a new promising stage of cooperation," the prime minister said, noting that both countries respect European values and international law.
Referring to the Greek-Bulgarian pipeline IGB, he said that the wager for both countries was to complete this as soon as possible and, in answer to a relevant question, he stated that the delays were due to the pandemic. "I promised that we would agree on an exact schedule. It is a matter of months," he added, while both leaders noted that the two countries have common needs for energy and it is positive that the consumption of electricity is higher in Greece during the summer and in Bulgaria during the winter.
Regarding the pandemic, Mitsotakis said he was happy that Bulgaria's new prime minister attaches great importance to the acceleration of vaccinations, adding he can count on Greece if it can help in some way.
He also stated that the course of the Western Balkans towards Europe is "in the interests of us all", which was why Greece supports this prospect "without forgetting that these countries must meet the criteria, starting with that of good neighbourly relations."
Mitsotakis also referred to shared challenges with respect to the refugee crisis, while he also spoke about the 5th Greece-Bulgaria High-level Council of Cooperation.
Asked about the attitude of the two countries and Europe towards Turkey, Mitsotakis said that the European Council has established the framework for Euro-Turkish relations and the neighbouring country has two options.
One - he said - is the gradual normalisation of Turkey's relations with neighbouring countries, the deescalation of tension and the cessation of provocative actions, "including the inconceivable casus belli".
In this case, the prime minister noted, "we will be the first in favour of the full harmonisation of Euro-Turkish relations because we will be the first to benefit."
He also said that the external borders of Greece and Bulgaria are also borders of Europe and that both countries protect them effectively with respect for human rights.
Finally, both leaders noted that there is room for further cooperation on this matter.