“Greece will comply with all its international obligations. It is not going to get actively involved in the war (with Israel in Gaza and Lebanon)”, underlined the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis in an interview this morning on the television station “Action 24”.
As he pointed out, “she will do everything in her power so that the hostilities stop. We will of course abide by the agreements, which result from the international commitments in the country, but there will be no involvement of the country in the Middle East”. “We always comply with international commitments and commitments deriving from international treaties. Greece will not get involved in any war conflict”, he emphasized.
Referring to the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terror attack, he called it “a truly black moment in history.”
“It set back very much the historical efforts that have been made to establish security and peace in the region and to establish the Palestinian state, which is always the end of this journey. The reality today is bleak, because it seems that a vicious circle has been established, in which the parties are constantly in a position of warring confrontation.
“We recognize Israel’s right to legitimate self-defense”
Mr. Gerapetritis repeated the international community’s call for restraint, for a complete cessation of hostilities, for diplomacy to be given space and time, for the return of hostages, the channeling of humanitarian aid and the initiation of discussions for the following day and the establishment of the Palestinian state.
“We recognize Israel’s right to legitimate self-defense, that is, within the limits of international and especially humanitarian law. We recognize the right of Israel and its citizens to their security. This is our position to this day. It hasn’t changed at all,” he emphasized.
Israel is a strategic partner of Greece, he noted, but on the other hand, the Arab world is historically very close to Greece and we have cultivated these ties. “We have taken an attitude of principle, a consistent attitude from the first day until today. This has allowed us to be able to talk with all sides today.”
“Obviously when Israel’s vital interests are at stake and the safety of its citizens is threatened, it is perfectly legitimate to have a legitimate defense. On the other hand, this legitimate defense should lie within international law. That is, it should be proportional and not lead to a permanent escalation. All parties should exercise restraint. The vicious circle must be broken.”
Not only Israelis and Arabs are at risk, but the wider region
“As long as this tug-of-war continues, unfortunately, the safety and well-being of all citizens, not only Israelis and Arabs, but also the wider region and the entire world, will be at risk”, he stressed and added that “Greece has a position of principle, a consistent position, which we will also serve within the Security Council where we are already as observers and from January 1st, as members of the Security Council, i.e. the most decisive organ of the UN”.
He noted that Greece has a complete plan for the removal of Greek citizens and those citizens of allied countries that are necessary. “Right now we have a plan even in the event that there is an airspace blockade. A plan, which includes multiple stages. There is no way that a Greek citizen or a Greek citizen of Greek origin will have any problem in case he wants to leave the war zones”, he noted.
He noted that the consequences of a more general escalation in the region will be disastrous. “And only the threat that there may be energy, oil targets in Iran led to an increase in oil prices. There is a risk of increased migration flows and a further humanitarian crisis.
Especially regarding immigration, he said that Lebanon alone, which is currently at the cutting edge of developments, hosts about 2.5 million immigrants, especially from Syria and Palestine. He stated that all the necessary measures have been taken for an improved cooperation between the Greek and Turkish authorities in the immigration issue.
For Greece’s doctrine on immigration and the new Migration Pact
“The doctrine of Greece is very strict. Surveillance of maritime borders, full humanitarian protection, where provided for by international law, but no retreat on the principles of our policy.”
He noted that a few months ago the new Migration and Asylum Pact was voted in the European Union, which does not completely satisfy the needs of any country, but it is an important development, which regulates the fair distribution of burdens within the European Union and must be implemented.
“Greece strictly adheres to international law and, of course, the Schengen Treaty. Anyone who receives humanitarian protection, that is, anyone who receives asylum through the legal procedures, which have been greatly streamlined in the last five years, as well as the accommodation structures, is allowed to travel abroad,” he said.
Germany is a great host country, which is always attractive. For us, what is required is strict observance of international law, equal distribution of burdens within the European Union, strict surveillance of our borders”, he stressed.
Greece is very confident in being able to discuss with Turkey
When asked about the Greek-Turkish dialogue and his upcoming meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister in Athens, he pointed out that it is better to discuss with your neighboring countries, than to always find yourself with your finger on the trigger.
“The blue homeland is a theory that has been developed since the 1990s. It is a theory that Turkey developed, considering that in this way it creates a framework of claims, not convincing. Regarding the blue homeland, Greece has a very clear opinion. There is absolutely no sovereign right of this type as far as the Aegean is concerned.”
As he underlined, “Greece currently has a huge international capital and a very high self-confidence to be able to discuss with Turkey and with anyone from a position, if you will allow me to say it, of power. Our country has never been as strong internationally as it is today,” he noted and added:
“It is the oldest country in the region in the European Union. It is the country, which is currently among the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council, which defines the international security architecture. It is the country that has developed strategic alliances with the biggest partners. It is the country that talks to everyone.”
The answer is that you should sit down and discuss international law
“It is obvious that over the years an extremely maximalist policy of Turkey has developed”, he noted and added: “Today there is indeed the Turkish-Libyan memorandum, which is non-existent and illegal. The way to manage it is neither to excommunicate, nor simply to at any moment consider that you should go to war.’
“The answer is that you should sit down to discuss, so that, realizing the persuasion that international law has, you can put it out there,” he said.
Violations of national airspace have been eliminated
He also underlined that in the last 15 months we have: zero violations of the national airspace, while before that we had hundreds per day. We have avoided major tensions and crises. We have a controlled immigration situation and we can discuss, so that we have a positive agenda with agreements, which produce positive results.
The positive thing about the discussion with Turkey in the last 15 months is that this discussion is structured and is worked out to its last line, he said.
“We started with a logic that we would have a step-by-step discussion. We will emphasize those that are mutually beneficial, such as economic cooperation, cooperation in other fields, which is to the benefit of both countries.”
“We have not backed down on anything in relation to the claims that our country has. We will not discuss and have never discussed territorial waters, nor any other issue of sovereignty, because these issues concern only our country and will never be raised.”
“Right now we are at a fork in the road. Either we will choose to remain in this status, that is, to be able to have as stable a relationship as possible, which will avoid shocks, avoid turbulence, or we will take a step forward and have the conversation, which is about defining marine zones”, he concluded.
Source: RES-MPE
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