Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ discussion with journalist Pierros Tzanetakos at protagon.gr (Athens, 26.11.2022)

Ιn a discussion with journalist Pierros Tzanetakos at protagon.gr, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, stated, among other things, that:

-Against the escalation of Turkish aggressive rhetoric, as well as their illegal activity, we have been engaged in an intense effort. Our goal is to support our positions based on respect for International Law while also deconstructing Turkish revisionism. These efforts are bearing fruit, as an increasing number of partners publicly emphasize what is obvious, namely that the Turkish claims, particularly regarding Greek sovereignty over the Aegean islands, but not only, are completely unsubstantiated.

We will continue to use all legal means to defend the justness of our positions, as well as our national sovereignty and sovereign rights, both individually and in coordination with our strategic allies.

-Unfortunately, Turkish policy, which ignores, at best, fundamental rules of International Law, is unlikely to alter in the short term. Let us have no illusions about this.

Always adhering to international rules, our response is to negotiate international Agreements with bordering countries such as Egypt, Italy, and, at a political level, with Albania so as to refer our maritime delimitation issue to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, thus setting an example of the framework within which these issues should be addressed.

The recent example of the Israel-Lebanon Agreement should serve as another strong indication of where the international practice is headed.

Of course, as we do not anticipate a change in Turkey’s stance and a “return” to international legality anytime soon, it is our duty to denounce illegal practices and elicit their condemnation by the international community. These issues were at the heart of my contacts in the past few days in Rome, Benghazi, Djerba in Tunisia, and Manama in Bahrain.

-The visit to Eastern Libya was necessary. At a time when Turkey is attempting to reach out to the key players in Eastern Libya, who are friendly to our positions, there was no room for postponement or delay.

The contacts I had in Benghazi were critical in consolidating our country’s presence in a highly unstable region, which is only a 20-minute flight from Crete.
As regards my visit to Tripoli, we had assessed and were prepared for all eventualities. We were not taken by surprise. However, since our understanding was broken, we had to adopt a principled stance.

Of course, the development of relations with Libya remains our primary priority. But only with a democratically elected representative government, not with one whose term of office has long expired and which is signing null and void “memoranda”.

“Memoranda” that are not only outside the scope of International Law and the International Law of the Sea but also outside the framework of geography and common sense.

Let me, first of all, clarify that our vision is not that of a fearful Greece, which has accepted that due to its population, it has to be defensive towards everyone and everything, in order to “avoid getting into trouble”. Our goal is not an enclosed Greece, but an outward-looking country, which seeks to have good relations with its neighbours, while also having a role and a say in developments in its region. And a country that believes in the potential of the “brand name” Greece throughout the world, not only due to its civilization and history but also because of its active presence in international developments.

However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed the geopolitical context in our wider region.

Turkey is attempting to convince our Western Allies that its strategic importance has increased.

And that despite its ambivalent attitude as regards Russia.

For example, by not applying sanctions.

However, contrary to what might have been expected, our allies’ and partners’ positions towards Turkish provocative conduct have not softened.

In my contacts, I sense a stronger understanding and in many cases support for our positions.

This gradual shift is mostly the result of three factors.

First, we develop our positions with arguments, showing maps with the actual situation on the ground.

We do not confine ourselves to theoretical discussions.

Secondly, Turkish positions, for example on our sovereignty over the Aegean islands, or the Turkish-Libyan “memorandum”, are blatantly outside the framework of the fundamental principles of International Law and common sense.

No country, even one favourable to Turkey, can support them on the international level.

Thirdly, Greece has acquired its own strategic importance, for the United States, European partners, and the states of our region.

Our relations with these countries are not defined by our relations with Turkey.

Greece has now acquired its own value on the geopolitical “trading floor”.

And its “shares” do not depend on Turkey’s value.

-First of all, let me point out that Turkey seems to be opening the “madhouse door” in Iraq and Syria at this moment, with uncertain consequences.

This development is in itself particularly worrying, as it demonstrates that Turkey will not hesitate to use violence against its neighbours.

This is despite calls from the US and Russia, whose positions on this point alone seem to converge, although they start from completely different starting points and have different objectives.

In the face of this ongoing challenge, we must be prepared to respond, using our diplomatic and military deterrence.

We must ensure that the “madhouse door” remains firmly closed.

We believe that this is for the benefit of Greece, but also for the benefit of Turkish society. Because our view remains that we can live in harmony with Turkish society within a common framework of mutual respect and internationally accepted rules.