In a rambling interview on Kontra Channel’s main newscast on Thursday night, Mr Panagiotis Lafazanis opened his papers, commenting on the revelations included in the new book by Alexis Tsipras. The former energy minister directly questioned the credibility of what is being written, accusing the former prime minister of trying to justify the unjustified about the political shift of the summer of 2015.
Mr. Lafazanis focused particularly on the background of the relations with Russia and the energy policy of the government at the time, while he did not hesitate to refer to the much-discussed issue of the invasion of the Mint and his attitude towards Yiannis Stournaras.
The background to the Russian pipeline
The former minister described in detail to Nikos Panagiotopoulos the contacts he had in Moscow, claiming that he had closed a huge deal for the passage of Russian natural gas through Greece. According to him, the pipeline would pass from the Black Sea to Turkey and from there to our country, ending in Central Europe.
“Tsipras had no idea what this pipeline meant or he didn’t want it,” said Mr. Lafazanis, attributing the withdrawal of the Greek side to suffocating pressure from the USA and specifically by the Obama administration. He complained that while the agreement was signed, Alexis Tsipras was “lying” and playing games with the Russian leadership, with the result that, after Lafazani himself left the government, the agreement was thrown into the “waste basket”.
Handcuffs to Stournaras
Answering questions about the scenarios regarding the invasion of the Mint and the arrest of the governor of the Bank of Greece, Mr. Lafazanis was disarming. He described as “nonsense” the invasion to print drachmas, stressing that such moves require a central political decision on a national currency, which did not exist.
However, referring to Giannis Stournarasstated emphatically: “If I could arrest Stournaras, I would.” He clarified that he considered and considers that the central banker was acting against the interests of the government and the country at that time, but there was no institutional possibility for such an action.
“We are at war with Russia and China”
In closing, Panagiotis Lafazanis expressed his strong concern about the current geopolitical course of Greece. He argued that the country has effectively declared war on two superpowers, Russia and Chinablindly following the choices of the West.
He specifically mentioned the port of Piraeus and the Chinese investment, noting that there are pressures to neutralize the Chinese presence. “Greece is headed for disaster within the euro,” he concluded, predicting stagnation and impoverishment unless the mix of economic and foreign policy changes.