“Greece is the only European country, which is discussing at the highest level with the leaderships on both sides.”
“We will be very immediate to start the technical committees on the demarcation of the maritime zones” with the Libyathe Foreign Minister said, George Gerapetritisin an interview with the Sky Radio Station.
After all, he will have a meeting tomorrow, Monday, September 15, with the Foreign Minister of the Libyan National Unity Government, and has already had similar discussions with Eastern Libya.
“Greece is the only European country, which is discussing at the highest level with the leaderships on both sides,” he noted, adding: “The visit is important, which we will have next week. It is the government’s expressive will in Western Libya to begin these discussions, so it’s a justified affair that you do. “
He also stressed that irregular migratory flows from Libya have been minimized. “There has been no evolution in the ratification of the Turkolibyan Memorandum, although there is the projected pressure and we are constantly developing our relationships with both sides,” he said.
The Foreign Minister said we have many open challenges ahead of us, as beyond the usual foreign policy and diplomacy, the international arena is now completely unpredictable.
Mr Gerapetritis referred to the UN Ordinary General Assembly in September, which is expected this year with great interest, as it will be the first presence of US President Donald Tram’s second term. It will also be in the shadow of two very big wars, who are still raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.
«We have a lot of open fronts and unfortunately an international polymer. International organizations, unfortunately, have not been shown that they can provide the necessary good services and we often see being substituted by the big countries that are mediated so that we can have a calmer situation, “he said.
Asked about Palestinian, he replied that the criticism of the government is “unfair”. “Greece is predominantly leading the humanitarian dimension in Palestine. We have taken great initiatives, we are in complete coordination with the Palestinian Authority. We are the ones who have the greatest support of the Palestinian Authority of the Europeans, “he added.
He noted that Greece believes that there should be a Palestinian state, “but this must emerge through a political process. It has been shown that unilateral recognitions have not contributed to the political process at all. “
«Of course there will be recognition of the Palestinian state. Will be done in time that will be as useful as possible and under the UN Organization“, He said.
Concerning the expected meeting of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he stressed that in the last two years, meetings have included the form of a greater regularity.
“Now, we have moved on to another stage, more normal for neighboring countries,” he said, adding: “There is an intention of both meeting. We are trying to find the right time, because planning is not easy, the two speeches of the two at the General Assembly do not coincide. But I hope that there will be the right timing to have the meeting. “
“With Turkey there is a very specific context of dialogue. This framework is the structured dialogue for politics, for the economic positive agenda and for confidence building measures. We continue a very basic attitude that is that by recognizing our underlying differences, we can even discuss so that no judgments are produced, “the foreign minister underlined.
He also said that “our position in the seas has been significantly upgraded and this is indisputable. Turkey reacts and it is reasonable to react. She has a perception of her claims in the Eastern Mediterranean. We will insist on something we had said from the beginning. Greece will never discuss issues of sovereignty and will not make any concessions. “
“We are upgrading our position. We are not going to be overwhelmed by the fact that others are claiming claims. The same is true of the claims we may have from Libya. We believe that dialogue can find sustainable solutions. We do not feel that there will be a crisis of them and there is always the road provided by international law, which is international jurisdiction. If Turkey considers that in terms of part of maritime zones, EEZ and continental shelf demarcations, there is a matter of disagreement between the two countries, there is always the path of the international court, “he said.
Finally, in a question about the criticism of former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, he noted that he was particularly respectful of his contribution to the country and his course in New Democracy.
“It has a different approach to national issues. I am convinced that if we sit and discuss these issues – we were two years ago with Turkey and where we are today – I think we will end up objectively and impartially that not only have there been concessions, but, on the contrary, the country’s international footprint today is stronger than ever.
“In this very recent and fresh evolution, with Chevron’s tangible expression, it also certifies that we have an excellent relationship, despite the other legend, with the United States,” he added.
“Because foreign policy is a matter of events and not cases and speculations, I have the feeling that with Mr Samaras there could be a debate that would be productive. Foreign policy, national issues, are not offered for a digestible approach or criticism. It should always be done on the basis of arguments. And arguments, which refer to the field and not the theory, “concluded Mr. Gerapetritis.