Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis’ interview with ‘Parapolitika 90.1’ radio station and journalists Christina Korai and Dimitris Takis (11.01.2022)
Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis spoke about all current issues, including the passing of the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, the French Presidency of the Council of the EU and Turkey’s aggressive rhetoric, in an interview with ‘Parapolika 90.1’ radio station and journalists Christina Korai and Dimitris Takis.
In particular, he expressed his condolences for the loss of David Sassoli, whom he described as a passionate European, who had treated Greece with great affection and respect while supporting the principles of International Law.
Referring to European issues, the Alternate Minister pointed out that Greece shares, to a very large extent, the goals of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, as it believes in the strategic autonomy and deepening of the EU, which needs to have a stronger voice. On the issue of the new Stability and Growth Pact, he noted that the Greek government is following up on the proposals that will be submitted, while at the same time aiming at the extend of the loose fiscal policy, as we go through a period of rising energy prices and supply chain crisis due to pandemic.
Regarding the provocative statements of Akar, he stressed that “he has chosen to make persistent provocations and show constant aggression towards Greece every time he appears”. He explained this tactic as an attempt on his part to gain points with his country’s public opinion and become a key player in the effort to rally the government around Erdoğan. On the issue of the demilitarization of the islands raised by Turkey, he noted that we did not decide out of the blue to send troops to our islands for no reason but to face the Turkish threat itself, which the Turks do not mention while we emphasize it at every opportunity. All major countries, the permanent members of the UN Security Council, accept this as the reasonable and logical thing to do and do allow this Turkish rhetoric to gain ground. He reiterated that Greece is prepared for all eventualities and any challenge will be answered on the ground.
Speaking about the EastMed pipeline, Mr. Varvitsiotis noted that regardless of the progress of the project, Greece will not let up on its cooperation with Israel, Egypt and Cyprus for the diversification of energy sources and the energy efficiency of Europe, in which the transfer of energy via submarine cables is discussed alongside the pipeline.
Finally, on the occasion of a recent incident of a young girl who was seriously injured in a car accident and there was no ICU available because all the beds were occupied by mostly unvaccinated people, he urged citizens to be vaccinated and not be naive about the consequences of the disease, endangering the lives of their fellow human beings who are in need because of other serious reasons.