“Greece has proven that it strongly defends its rights, the agreement on the Ionian Sea constitutes a vote of confidence in our sovereign rights”, said the Member of Parliament of Serres and Secretary of International Relations and EU. of New Democracy, Mr. Tassos Hatzivasiliou, speaking to SKAI on Friday morning.
Responding to a related question, the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs clarified that “there was no way for American energy giants to operate in areas without a safety net”. As he underlined, “the fact that Greece will host even more critical infrastructures, not only for itself – we are talking about the wider region and essentially for the energy-hungry European market – then you realize that a stronger safety net is being spread around these infrastructures, therefore also around the country”.
Referring to the energy giants investing in the region, he noted: “American giants such as ExxonMobil or Chevron are not involved in regions with murky status. They only go where things are clear. So this means that Greece has very correctly followed the provisions of International Law to secure its rights”.
In the same context, he added: “These large companies recognize that Greece has fair and solid positions. Now we are becoming the most reliable partner and ally in the region. It is a big deal for Greece to become an entry point for LNG, which will essentially replace Russian natural gas in the European market in the coming years.”
Mr. Hatzivasiliou also referred to the internal political debate of the last weeks: “Until a few weeks ago, there were political centers in Greece that accused the Mitsotakis government of allegedly being cut off from the Trump administration, of allegedly being isolated from the United States and so on. The energy forum in Zappeion proves that Greece is not the only marginalized country. The opposite.”