INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
“We are not happy with the strengthening of the defence cooperation between Madrid and Ankara,” stressed the Deputy Foreign Minister, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, in an interview with the Spanish newspaper “El Pais”. “Turkey is a country that does not respect international law,” he added.
Mr. Varvitsiotis noted that Greece wants to play a stabilising role in the region and is in favour of strengthening a strategic security axis in the Mediterranean, whereas “Turkey pursues a policy in terms of military power.”
“We are trying to develop our relations with all the countries in the region, especially with Israel, Egypt and Cyprus.” What is more, the defence agreements with the USA and France “are governed by the spirit of the European Defence Mechanism”.
The Deputy Minister made a special reference to the issue of immigration, emphasising that the Greek government, in the face of the instrumentalisation of immigration by Turkey, has implemented a restrictive policy of preventing the entry of illegal immigrants through the sea borders, which does not jeopardize human lives, is not secretly applied, as it is monitored by all international actors in the region such as Frontex and NATO, and defends the principle that “the EU has borders which it must defend”.
Also read: Parliament of Catalonia | Recognises Kurdish Administration in Syria
In contrast, he said, the Turkish Coast Guard, instead of preventing immigrant ships from setting sail, is promoting them again, jeopardizing human lives. In addition, he stressed that Greece has reduced the number of people it hosts from 30,000 – in miserable living conditions in 2015 – to 3,000 today, creating new reception centers with decent conditions.
Speaking about the new German government, the Deputy Foreign Minister said that “he must understand that we are in a new Europe” because of the effects of the pandemic around the world and “instead of taking strict measures, the new stability measures should be directed towards EU growth.”
Source: AMNA
Also read: Erdogan – Sanchez | Strengthening of bilateral relations and military cooperation
NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION
Burkina Faso | France’s frustration over deportation of three diplomats
Burkina Faso has accused three French diplomats of subversive activities and ordered them to leave the country within 48 hours…
Middle East | Heavy explosions in Iran
Israel retaliated against Iran for Tehran’s attack on Israeli territory over the weekend, a US administration source said.
Israel War Council | Response to Iran
Israel’s response to Iran’s attack is thought to be a matter of time. Thus, the war council that held a meeting for more…
Burkina Faso | France’s frustration over deportation of three diplomats
Burkina Faso has accused three French diplomats of subversive activities and ordered them to leave the country within 48 hours…
Middle East | Heavy explosions in Iran
Israel retaliated against Iran for Tehran’s attack on Israeli territory over the weekend, a US administration source said.
HNDGS | Bilateral Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) between Greece – USA – Photos
The Bilateral Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) between the Armed Forces of Greece and the US was completed on Friday…
Delphi Economic Forum IX | Nikos Papatsas and the need for a collective effort to restructure the European defence industry
The need for enhanced cooperation of the Western powers in the field of Defence was underlined by Mr. Nikolaos Papatsas, Senior Partner of…
INVESTING IN DEEP-TECH: DUAL-USE TECHNOLOGIES | The NIF and DIANA in Greece
The Information Conference on “Investing in Deep Tech: Dual-Use Technologies” held at the Hellenic Armed Forces Officers’ Club…
US Navy | First combat use of SM-3 Missiles
In a historic first, US Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers deployed Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) anti-missile interceptors in combat…