“Turkey has understood Greece’s position. With casus belli and gray zones, it does not enter SAFE”, said the Member of Parliament of Serres and Secretary of International Relations and EU of the New Democracy, Mr. Tasos Hatzivasiliou, speaking to ERTNews on the morning of Sunday, October 26.
Mr. Hatzivasiliou explained that “the initial intention of the Europeans was that the decisions on the participation of third countries in the SAFE mechanism and the allocation of European funds be taken by a simple majority”, however, as he underlined, “thanks to the efforts of Greece, and especially of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis, assisted by the Deputy Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou, the principle of unanimity has been achieved”.
“Practically, any third country that wants to conclude an agreement with the EU and receive European defense funds needs the consent of all member states”, he pointed out, adding: “Greece, through the mouth of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has made it clear that as long as Turkey has the casus belli and the theory of gray zones on the table, it is not going to join the mechanism and receive public funds defense funds”.
Deputy Serron emphasized that Ankara “has realized the clarity of the Greek position”, pointing out that “Mr. Fidan’s recent statements, with a relative flexibility on the issue of 12 miles, which is linked to the casus belli, are indicative of the pressure Ankara is under”. However, as he said, “Greece continues to have a firm stance: issues of national sovereignty are not discussed with anyone. Our country maintains an inalienable right to expand its territorial waters whenever it deems it nationally beneficial and appropriate.”
Referring to Turkey’s armaments, Mr. Hatzivasiliou underlined that “Ankara’s road to the modernization of the Armed Forces is not only straight”. As he explained, “Turkey is talking with Germany about Eurofighter, is considering used aircraft from Qatar, while the F-35 issue has been “frozen” due to sanctions on Russian S-400 missiles.”
“Even if the F-16 agreement with the US were signed today, Turkey would need at least five years to receive the first aircraft,” he noted, adding that “Greek foreign and defense policy is not mutually exclusive – Greece has exemplary shielded its Armed Forces and faces developments with confidence and sobriety.”