“Greece will fulfill all its international obligations. He is not going to take an active part in the war,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis in an interview this morning on the television station “Action 24”.
As he said, “she will do everything she can to end the war. We will, of course, adhere to the agreements, which arise from the international commitments in the country, but the country will not have anything to do with the Middle East”.
“We always fulfill international commitments and commitments that come from international treaties. Greece will not be involved in any war conflict”, he stressed.
Referring to the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terror attack, he called it “a very black moment in history”.
“It has greatly delayed the historic efforts made to establish security and peace in the region and to establish the state of Palestine, which is always the end of this journey. The reality today is grim, as a vicious circle seems to have been established, in which the parties are always in a warring confrontation.
Mr. Gerapetritis repeated the international community’s call for restraint, a complete end to hostilities, space and time for diplomacy, the return of hostages, the provision of humanitarian aid and the start of negotiations on the next day and get it up and running. of the state of Palestine.
“We recognize Israel’s right to legitimate self-defense, that is, within the limits of international law 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 said.
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 a principled attitude, a consistent attitude from day one to today. This has enabled us to be able to speak to all sides today.”
“It is clear that Israel’s vital interests are at risk and the security of its citizens is at risk, it is absolutely legitimate to have a legitimate defense. On the other hand, this legitimate defense should be within international law. That is, it should be proportionate and not lead to permanent aggravation. All parties should exercise restraint. The vicious circle must be broken.”
“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”, added he emphasized and said. “that Greece has a position of principle, a consistent position, which we will also serve within the Security Council where we are already observers and from January 1, as members of the Security Council, ie the most decisive organ of the UN”.
Notice how Greece has a whole plan to remove Greek citizens and as many citizens of allied countries as necessary.
“We have a plan right now even in the event of an airspace blockade. A plan, which includes multiple steps. 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 catastrophic.
“And with just the threat of potential energy targets, oil prices in Iran soared. There is a risk that migration flows will increase and there will be another humanitarian crisis.
Especially regarding immigration, he said that Lebanon alone, which is currently at the forefront of developments, hosts about 2.5 million immigrants, especially from Syria and Palestine.
He said that all the necessary measures have been taken for improved cooperation between the Greek and Turkish authorities regarding the issue of immigration.
“Teaching Greek is very tough. Surveillance of maritime borders, full humanitarian protection, when provided for in international law, but without retreating from the principles of our policy.”
He noted that the European Union voted the Migration and Asylum Agreement a few months ago, which does not fully satisfy the needs of any country, but is an important development, which regulates the fair distribution of burdens within the European Union and puts force.
“Greece strictly adheres to international law and, of course, to 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. Germany is a great host country, always attractive. For us, what is required is strict compliance with international law, equal distribution of burdens within the European Union, strict surveillance of our borders”, he emphasized.
When asked about the dialogue between Greece and Turkey and the meeting he will have with the Turkish Foreign Minister in Athens, he pointed out that it is better to discuss with your neighboring countries, than to find yourself in always with your finger on the trigger.
“It is clear that a very maximalist policy of Turkey has developed over the years”, he noted and said: “Today there is indeed a Turkish-Libyan memorandum, which does not exist and is illegal. It is not the way to manage it do not excommunicate, nor at any time consider that you should go to war.’
“The answer is that you should sit down and discuss, so that you can put it out there, while understanding the persuasion of international law,” he said.
“The blue homeland is a theory that has been developed since the 1990s. It is a theory developed by Turkey, thinking in this way that it creates a framework of demands, without being convinced. Regarding the blue homeland, there is Greece has a very clear opinion. There is no sovereign right of this kind as far as the Aegean is concerned.”
As he pointed out, “Greece has huge international capital at the moment and very high self-confidence to be able to negotiate with Turkey and anyone in a position of power, if you’ll allow me to say it. Our country has never been as strong internationally as it is today,” he noted and said:
“It is the oldest country in the region in the European Union. The country, which is currently among the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council, defines the international security architecture. It is the country that has developed strategic alliances with the largest partners. It is the country that speaks to everyone.”
He also emphasized that in the last 15 months we have had: the national airspace has not been breached, and before that we had hundreds a 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 discussions with Turkey over the past 15 months is that these discussions are structured and worked out to the last line, he said.
“We started with the 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 areas, which is to the benefit of both countries.”
“We have not supported anything regarding the demands of our country. We will not and have not discussed territorial waters, or any other issue related to sovereignty, because these issues only concern our country and will never be raised.”
“At the moment we are at a fork in the road. Either we will choose to remain in this status, that is, a relationship that is as stable as possible, that avoids turmoil, that will avoid turbulence, or we will take a step forward and have the conversation, which is about the definition of the sea. areas”, he said.
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