Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis in statements after the convening on Monday of the National Council on Foreign Policy, said that the visit to Turkey on Tuesday by Pope Benedict XVI is very important, adding that "I hope it will be successful and that Turkey will show its hospitable face."

The foreign minister expressed certainty that Turkey will do everything possible so as to condemn certain extreme elements and wished for the Pope's visit to the neighboring country to be successful, as well as his talks with Ecumenical Patriach Vartholomeos.

  Main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) deputy and head of the party's Foreign Policy, Security and Defense Department, Christos Papoutsis, said during the National Council on Foreign Policy session that the Pope's visit to Turkey was important.

He stressed in particular that "the recognition of the Ecumenical character of the Patriarchate constitutes an honor."

Source: Athens News Agency

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