“Mr Chairman, dear colleagues,
It is my honour to stand before you once more, shortly after our last meeting, honouring the commitment made in the government’s policy statements.
The government has undertaken a commitment to deliberate as well as to provide information. If I may, Mr Chairman, I would like to state that I am always at your disposal when you deem a discussion or briefing necessary. The separation of powers is clear. Parliament is the supreme body and, therefore, this is not a concession but an obligation on my part, as it is an obligation for the government and each Minister separately.
Much occurred during the short time between our meetings:
Firstly, Turkey’s illegal actions in the exclusive maritime zone of Cyprus are persisting and escalating through the presence of the vessels ‘Barbaros’, ‘Yavuz’ and ‘Fatih’. As you are well aware, these resulted in the EU deciding on imposing sanctions.
Secondly, Turkish violations in the Aegean persist and, in fact, to a certain extent, at an increased rate and with overflights recently.
Thirdly, there were developments regarding the European course of Albania and North Macedonia. The decision made regarding these two countries was to re-examine the issue of commencement of their accession negotiations. No specific decision on the embarkment date of these negotiations was made.
Fourthly, the European Council recently reached important decisions regarding migration. I am sure you are aware of them and we can discuss them, if you deem it necessary, although I imagine that Mr Chrysochoidis and Mr Koumoutsakos could provide a far more elaborate briefing than I, particularly in regard to migration.
Additionally, you are certainly aware that I had the pleasure of welcoming the US Secretary of State, Mr Mike Pompeo, during his three-day visit to Athens.
Apart from discussions and in addition to the Strategic Dialogue, this highly important meeting culminated in the signing of the amendment to the Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement concluded between Greece and the USA. This amendment will be put to a vote by the Hellenic Parliament. In the government's view, this agreement further upgrades the country’s defence cooperation with the USA.
I must also note that developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the wider attitude of Turkey regarding the Aegean and Cyprus, and the philosophy of its presence in the region in general require constant vigilance on our part.
As is self-evident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring developments, always in absolute cooperation and in an effort of understanding with our European partners.
As regards the Cyprus issue, our primary national concern and key strategic pursuit remains the termination of the ongoing Turkish occupation and the resolution of the Cyprus issue on the basis of the decisions of the UN Security Council and in accordance with the European acquis.
You are aware that we support the initiative by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Guterres, for the conclusion of Terms of References for the re-commencement of the negotiation procedure.
Our view favours a trilateral format meeting at first, followed by a five-member format.
As you are all aware, we are in continuous, comprehensive and constant coordination with Nicosia. The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, is here as of yesterday. As you know, I visited Cyprus twice, once in the company of the Prime Minister, Mr Mitsotakis, and then after to visit Mr Nikos Christodoulides. If I recall correctly, Mr Christodoulides has visited Athens on at least three occasions.
In any event, our common position and view is that the age of gunboat diplomacy, which Turkey espouses and implements, is long gone, consigned to the 19th or perhaps early 20th century. However, it appears that Turkey has not yet realised this.
The issue of migration — to touch upon it briefly — is yet another issue we are called upon to address, primarily taking its humanitarian aspect into consideration.
Our country has been facing a dramatic increase in migration flows to the islands of the Eastern Aegean since the beginning of the year. In this regard, we consider European support and solidarity to be particularly important. Turkey's absolute conformity with its obligations, as these derive from the Joint Statement with the EU in March 2016, is equally important.
Migration is an important issue with crucial consequences. However, we believe it is clear that it cannot be used in the service of particular interests. It cannot and must not be used as a means of extortion to gain economic aid and reproduce unsubstantiated and patently false allegations.
In summation, dear colleagues, I would generally say that Greece, being faithful to the role it plays in the broader region of South-eastern Europe, supports the accession course of Albania and North Macedonia. However, it expects concrete steps of progress in important issues from these two countries. In fact, yesterday the Albanian Prime Minister, Mr Rama, was here. This discussion was repeated with the Prime Minister, Mr Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This was their second meeting, their first having taken place in New York, as you are well aware, during the UN General Assembly.
As regards North Macedonia, the issue for us is the complete and consistent application of the Prespa Agreement. Already since the time it was in opposition, New Democracy voiced its concerns regarding the problems it identified in the text of this Agreement. However, as we have clearly said — we said it at the time and Kyriakos Mitsotakis has made repeated statements —, once the Agreement entered into force, the country is absolutely obligated to honour it. And that is what we as a Government are doing.
As regards Albania, respecting the rights of the Greek National Minority is crucially important for Greece, not only in the obvious context of bilateral relations, but in the broader context in which Albania must operate in order to become a member of the single European family. This primarily concerns the right of self-identification of the members of the Greek National Minority as well as their property rights.
Therefore, in view of all the foregoing and without expounding on other issues, such as Brexit, where there were also developments, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to once again stand before you, and I would like to reiterate that I am absolutely at your disposal to continue and deepen the discussion after the initial statements by party representatives”.
October 30, 2019