“The Greek Prime Minister made it clear to Mr Erdogan that we will not accept the questioning of our national sovereignty, nor a two-state solution in Cyprus”, underlined Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, speaking today, live from Prague, to ERT1 “Connections” TV programme and journalists Kostas Papachlimintzos and Christina Vidou.
Referring to the atmosphere that prevailed yesterday at the European Political Community Summit, Mr. Varvitsiotis, who is accompanying the Prime Minister in Prague, pointed out that at the leaders’ dinner the Turkish President demonstrated in his own way that he does not feel an integral part of the Western project, which is based on European values, and left in the middle of the dinner, immediately following Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ intervention.
Assessing the work of the first European Political Community Summit, the Alternate Minister stated that it was a “successful experiment” and noted that the Greek side held a series of bilateral meetings with the Prime Ministers of Ukraine, Armenia, Portugal, North Macedonia, Albania, and the President of Kosovo.
Regarding the recent shipwrecks in the Aegean, Mr. Varvitsiotis underscored that, despite increased border surveillance by the Greek side, which has reduced migration flows by approximately 90%, the problem has not been solved, and the Turkish side is to blame. He reiterated the need to fully adhere to the EU- Turkey Joint Statement, not only on refugee returns, but also on the guarding of the Turkish borders.
Lastly, the Alternate Minister stated that final decisions on energy issues are not expected to be taken today, but rather at the EU Summit in Brussels on October 21.