Greece safe in eurozone: Minister

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Turkey's currency crisis will not harm Greece's economy, the Greek finance minister has said.

Yannos Papantoniou told CNN on Monday that Greece had entered the eurozone "quickly enough" to avert fiscal and political disaster in the region.

His comments came after the Turkish lira plunged in value following a public row between the country's president and the prime minister on February 19.

VIDEO Finance Minister Yannos Papantoniou assures of an economy that's financially and politically unaffected by the Turkish crisis.  Real  28K    80K  Windows  28K    80K

"Whatever happens in Turkey has no effect on Greece," said Papantoniou.

He added that Greece was trying to support its neighbour by encouraging investment and calling for greater economic cooperation between the two nations.

He also dismissed warnings that the Greek economy was in danger of over-heating. He said the country was on course to tighten its budget policy and maintain an increase in its fiscal surplus.

In response to questions over the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Papantoniou said the greatest challenge was not organising the event, but how to upgrade the city's facilities.

He said Athens was working full-time to prepare for the games, and that the country saw the Olympics as an opportunity to improve its image to the global community.

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