The message that “we are not so naive or naive to believe that from one day to the next we will be able to solve the problems we have with Turkey, which go back decades”, sent the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis, from the 9th Economic Forum of of Delphi, underlining however that “it is important to keep communication channels open” and “to be able to have calm in our region”.
In fact, as he pointed out in a conversation with journalist Niki Lymperakis, he wants to leave a legacy of a quiet neighborhood, being beneficial for Greece and its citizens.
“A very elementary element of the very good relationship we are trying to develop with Turkey is the understanding that the basic positions of the two parties are not going to change”, noted the minister and called it important “to be able to calm tensions”. In this context “it is important to have a direct channel of communication that will decompress tensions”.
“I want the Greeks to feel safe”
“All of us must understand – and I think this is important to have as a common understanding – that it is very important to be able to have a calm in our region. If we accept the fact that there are positions that are counterbalanced by the two parties, then we can have that point of understanding,” he explained, pointing out that “we have managed in the last 10 months to have zero action in the field and to have a rhetoric that indeed in some cases may regress, but in reality it is far from those we have seen in the past”.
He emphasized that he wants Greek citizens “to feel confident about their homeland and to feel a sense of calmness, a sense of security”. He himself will never use rhetoric, which will be disproportionate to the facts. “It would be very easy for me to use the portfolio of Secretary of State for personal gain. In Greece, the easiest thing that could happen is to become popular on national issues. I won’t do it. For my country, I want to be primarily useful and not popular. And this is what I will continue to do,” he said.
“When we don’t talk, we make our position worse”
Regarding the expectations from the upcoming meeting of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs commented that at every level we should “try to de-dramatize the meetings, which take place between the Greek and Turkish delegation”, as they are leaders of two neighboring countries who must discuss the issues that arise and be in an open and honest dialogue.
“Certainly conclusions will be drawn at the end of the day, because we have a large open positive agenda, we have mutually beneficial measures, which have to do with immigration, political protection, trade, the economy. We have a wide range of exchanges and deals. On the other hand, it is very important to talk. When we do not discuss, it is inevitable that we will worsen our position,” he pointed out.
“Quiet neighborhood deposit”
He emphasized that “the EEZ and the continental shelf is the only dispute that can be brought before international jurisdiction and that is the end of the road”, while when asked if he is optimistic about whether we can see this end, he replied: “This what I can assure you is that I would like to see it. I want to leave a legacy of a quiet neighborhood. As long as the underlying problem of demarcation is not resolved, there will always be tensions.
At some point we will have to face things bravely. We should sit down and see with Turkey how we can have a balanced position, which on the basis of International Law alone will be able to lead us to a solution of this unique problem that we have in terms of its legal texture, and to move forward and possibly refer to The Hague or Hamburg, to an international jurisdiction, which will be able to close the demarcation issue”.
“Greece’s basic position for the West is not negated. Balkans”
Regarding the issue of Freddy Beleris, he reiterated that it is not a bilateral issue, but a European one, considering that “there is now a common understanding that the way in which the case of Freddy Beleris was managed is not appropriate for an advanced state of law”.
He pointed out that the basic position of Greece is not negated in terms of the European perspective of both Albania and the Western Balkans as a whole. “We want to see Albania as well, just as we want the rest of the Western Balkan states to join the European Union and we will do everything in our power to make this happen,” he said, clarifying, however, that “respect for the fundamental, that is, in the Rule of Law, in Democracy, in the rights of minorities, it is a treaty, in which no concession can be made”.
With reference to the Prespa Agreement and the accompanying protocols, he commented – among other things – that “what we must do is to monitor the faithful implementation of the Prespa Agreement. And that’s what we do. When there is a common understanding, a mutual understanding, a real situation of full compliance, the memoranda will come to the Greek Parliament for ratification”. He clarified that “the delay has primarily to do with the relations that are developing beyond the Prespa Agreement”.
Mutual support from the West in Ukraine
For Ukraine, Mr. Gerapetritis underlined that what is needed at the moment is unanimous support from the West, “and this support should be understood as necessary universal solidarity towards the one who defends himself in favor of International Law” . “The effort, which is being made at the level of the European Union, at the level of NATO, at the level of the United Nations Organization, should continue, because the support for Ukraine is not only support for an allied country, it is support against violent revisionism”, he said characteristics.
Greece stands in the Middle East where International Law stands
Asked where Greece stands in what is happening in the Middle East, Mr. Gerapetritis replied that our country stands where International Law stands” and explained: “Yes, Israel has the right to self-defense within the limits set by the International Law and especially humanitarian law. Yes, we should differentiate the Palestinian people from Hamas. Yes, the Palestinians should be given a vision. This vision is nothing more than the implementation of the decisions of the Security Council, based on which there should be a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Greece “will never become trading”, he stressed. Its great capital is consistency, and with that it will continue to play a very pivotal role both at the level of cessation of hostilities, and on the humanitarian side and in the architecture of the next day for the Middle East.
The relations with the USA are deep and meaningful
To the question “what if Trump returns?”, the foreign minister commented that “the Republic will speak. If the Republic speaks and says Trump, then let it be Trump.” He does not feel that there will be a huge difference from the outcome of the ballot in the United States and he emphasized that the relations that exist with the USA are neither temporary nor personal. “The relationships are very deep, they are very essential, they are governed by rules and principles and I want to believe that these will continue,” he said.
Source: RES-MPE
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