N. DENDIAS: Today I once again had the pleasure of seeing my friend Nikos Christodoulides, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, whom I have seen countless times of late, as I said recently in the Hellenic Parliament, and the number of our meetings is still increasing. I had the pleasure of briefing him in person – because we speak on the phone very frequently – on the results of my tour of the Gulf and the results of today’s visit to Libya and Egypt.
We also had the opportunity to talk about the preparations for the signing of the EastMed agreement in Athens, on 2 January, and in general we exchanged views on how to best coordinate our actions to achieve our goals, which are always, as you know, within the framework of International Law. And as Nikos Christodoulides very rightly said, without excluding anyone. All of the countries that regard International Law as their natural environment are welcome to participate in our joint initiatives. And once again, I thank you very much. I am always pleased to set foot on the soil of the Republic of Cyprus.
JOURNALIST: Minister, today Mr. Erdogan not only insisted that the two memoranda, including the memorandum on maritime zones, will be implemented, but also disputed the legal status of the Aegean islands. Do you have any comment on that?
N. DENDIAS: I think that International Law and the International Treaties respond adequately to any arbitrary stance, statement or conduct.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Dendias, do you think the signing of the inter-state agreement on the EastMed is an initial diplomatic response and reaction to Ankara and how Ankara itself reacts as it sees fit [...]?
N. DENDIAS: I agree with the Minister that what we are doing is not a reaction to someone else. It is an effort to improve the quality of life of our countries’ citizens, to improve our economies, to provide solutions, and the EastMed significantly strengthens the European Union’s energy balance. What I always say is that we don’t see our initiatives as being directed against anyone else. We see them as positive steps, and we invite anyone to participate as long as they agree with the broader framework.
JOURNALIST: Is there anything new on the delimitation of the Greece-Cyprus-Egypt exclusive economic zones?
N. DENDIAS: If I remember correctly, we have a meeting of technical committees with Egypt on 8 January. Beyond that, everything is open to discussion.
December 22, 2019