Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, N.Dendias, following his meeting with the Foreign Minister of Iraq, F.Hussein (Baghdad, 14.10.2020)

Thank you dear colleague, thank you Your Excellency, it is a great pleasure to be visiting Iraq today, it is a great pleasure and an honour to be in Baghdad, a historic capital in the history of humankind.

And it was a great opportunity to meet with my dear colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein. This is the first visit of a Greek Foreign Minister to Iraq for 22 years. But I’m certain that in the near future meetings like today’s will be much more frequent, as I see with great satisfaction that there is a mutual will to further enhance and also expand our relations.

A dialogue between two friendly states that can flourish on the solid basis of common commitment to peace and stability. To a common commitment to prosperity of our people. Our ties, as His Excellency mentioned, are historic. Greece has been a historic friend of Iraq. Greece has been a historic friend of the Arab world.

Today we had the opportunity to exchange views upon a broad range of issues pertaining to our bilateral relations and also to regional affairs. Relations between Greece and Iraq already stand at a very good level. The two memoranda of understanding we just concluded are testament to our mutual will to enhance those relations. Still, as I like to say, there is always room for more improvement on both political, as well as economic level, in particular investment and trade. There are plenty of Greek companies, for example, that are willing to invest and trade in Iraq. Great potential for cooperation in areas such as construction, energy, renewables, pharmaceuticals and even more.

Allow me to take this opportunity to reaffirm my country’s full support for Iraq’s territorial integrity, for Iraq’s political unity and sovereignty. Greece fully supports a stable and prosperous Iraq as a part of a stable and prosperous region with balanced relations with its neighbours. Of course on the basis of respect to sovereignty and International law.

In this vein we would welcome the broadening of our cooperation, also in the context of multilateral schemes, such as the trilateral mechanism among Iraq, Egypt and Jordan.

We also discussed Iraq’s cooperation with the European Union, particularly efforts towards consolidation of security. I ensured my colleague, that Greece stands ready to support Iraq in the promotion of its relations with the European Union.

Finally, I had the opportunity to update my colleague on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean with Turkey’s gunboat diplomacy, a practice, I have to say, of previous centuries, that unfortunately continues. Particularly, regarding the illegal activities of Turkey on Greece’s continental self, as well as its decision to open the Varosha coastal front in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus.

This is a violation of international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions. Those decisions that were broadly condemned by the international community. I very much encourage you to look at yesterday’s State Department’s declaration.

Greece has repeatedly stated at the highest level its readiness to engage in a dialogue with Turkey, on the basis of respect of international law and the principle of good neighbourly relations. Yet, we have also made crystal clear that dialogue between two sovereign countries can never take place in an environment of aggression and threats.

I believe it is now more evident than ever that Turkey is acting as a disruptor of peace and stability in the greater region. Virtually, every crisis, and every problematic situation in the region, namely Nagorno-Karabakh, Libya, Syria, Cyprus, South-Eastern Mediterranean , but also Iraq, has a common denominator: Turkey.

In concluding, I would like to thank you dear Fuad , dear colleague, for your warm hospitality you have shown to me personally, but also to my delegation and I am looking forward to meeting you soon in Athens, as I found out that you are a frequent visitor of my country. We’ll be proud to host you. Thank you so much.