Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis’ interview with “SKAI 100.3” radio station and journalists Dimitris Oikonomou and Akis Pavlopoulos-highlights (Athens, 22.12.2022)

“Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with his very significant visit to the minority villages of Albania, is making a highly symbolic and substantial gesture, defying those who claimed that he gave in to Albanian pressure and demonstrating that the motherland does not forget the Greek minority”, emphasized Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, in an interview today with “SKAI 100.3” Radio Station and journalists Dimitris Oikonomou and Akis Pavlopoulos.

In particular, Mr. Varvitsiotis underscored that the Greek government does everything possible to safeguard the interests of the Greek minority in Albania, including through the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans, which requires Tirana to respect the Greek minority and its property rights, especially in the area of Himare.

As regards the referral of the issue of the delimitation of the EEZ between Greece and Albania to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Alternate Minister stated that pressure is being exerted to ensure that the process is not delayed any further, emphasizing that it is an agreement that shows the way and the path through which differences concerning the delimitation of the EEZ are resolved.

Speaking about Turkey, Mr. Varvitsiotis emphasized that it is going through a period of high pre-election tension and regression on issues regarding the Rule of Law, as demonstrated by the unfounded politically motivated prosecution and unprecedented sentence of Ekrem Imamoglu. He reiterated that Greece is making every effort to internationalize Turkish provocative conduct, noting that the anti-Greek climate cultivated in the run-up to the elections in the neighboring country makes any discussion for the next day difficult.