Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs M. Varvitsiotis’ interviews on Open TV and ERT: Main points (24.05.2021)

In two interviews today, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis joined the Prime Minister in expressing in the clearest manner Greece’s firm condemnation of the forced landing of an Athens-Vilnius Ryanair flight in Minsk, which resulted in the arrest of the journalist, Roman Protasevich.

In particular, in an interview on Open TV’s morning news program “Ora Ellados” with journalists Akis Pavlopoulos and Dora Koutrokoi, Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed that “the Lukashenko regime operates on Soviet models of the 1970s and 1980s, namely with Cold War practices that are unacceptable in 2021”. He added that very tough measures against Belarus are expected to be introduced at today’s European Council.

On the same issue, in an interview on ERT’s show “Syndeseis” with Costas Papachlimintzos and Alexandra Kaimenou, the Alternate Minister spoke of an unprecedented action, noting that there has been a massive outrage against Belarus by all members of the European Council and that sanctions including flight ban are under consideration.

Asked about the Conference on the Future of Europe, Mr. Varvitsiotis referred to the special event that will take place at Zappeion next Thursday, in the presence of the European leadership. As he mentioned, this is about a double celebration, that is, for the 40 years of Greece in EU but also for the beginning of the dialogue for the Future of Europe. He added that it is very important for citizens to voice their ambition for a Europe of tomorrow and invited them to participate through the open dialogue platform available on the European Union website (https://futureu.europa.eu/).