INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Mr. Speaker, Ladies, and Gentlemen MPs, I will attempt to be as brief as possible, despite the Speaker’s courtesy.
We are all aware that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has overturned the International Order as we had perceived it by then. As we simply say, “the world has changed”.
I have to say, however, that these developments have confirmed the Mitsotakis government’s decision to redefine our foreign policy. That is, to respond to current challenges with measurable actions and results, rather than resting in verbal clichés.
I believe that we have left behind for good the “syndrome” of a phobic, enclosed, and entrenched Greece.
The government has also sought to reinforce the acquis of national understanding from day one.
Particularly regarding the major choices of our foreign policy.
I am sincerely proud of this and I would also like to thank the parties for their contribution.
Over the last 3.5 years, we have implemented a concrete, coherent national strategy, which is outward-oriented, modern, and up-to-date. I believe that the foundations for a lasting geopolitical upgrade of our country have been laid.
The foundation has been agreed upon and is always International Law: respect for the sovereignty and integrity of all states, as well as promotion of peaceful settlement of disputes within the framework of International Law and the United Nations Charter.
We have served this policy. I have made 223 visits and I have held hundreds of meetings; I have visited 68 countries; I have met over 100 of my counterparts. Also, 15 Ministers have met a Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs for the first time.
With some countries, we have had no contact for decades. We have developed an unprecedented network of relations and cooperation; we signed historic Agreements.
We have signed approximately 300 Agreements. Two years ahead of the vote on our election to the United Nations Security Council, we have secured 111 pledges of support in writing.
Furthermore, we have signed Agreements with the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, within the framework of strategic cooperation and defense assistance.
We have signed Agreements on tourism, education, culture, sport, economy, and trade.
We have signed Agreements with Italy and Egypt on the delimitation of Exclusive Economic Zones.
I believe that we can all agree that the geopolitical footprint of the country has been significantly enlarged. Türkiye is annoyed by this. I have to say that this should not be the case. Türkiye should seek to become part of the new reality, first through de-escalation and subsequently through dialogue.
A dialogue on our sole dispute on a certain evident basis: International Law and the International Law of the Sea. And primarily without threats of war, missile threats, or threats of “arrivals at night”.
On the contrary, Türkiye is making up enemies from the Aegean to the other side of the Atlantic and is seeking constant tension attempting to justify its obvious revisionism and expansionism with utterly unfounded arguments. It violates International Law on a daily basis.
I would like the timeline of the escalation of Turkish claims against Greece, from 1974 to the present, to be recorded in the minutes.
Therefore, allow me to submit for the minutes the maps that indicate how Turkish revisionism has escalated over time.
Dear colleagues, we will not stop responding to these. We will not stop responding to every letter, to all sorts of rhetoric against us, to every null and void agreement. In coordination with our partners, our friends, and with our allies.
In addition, I would like to seize the opportunity to express, once again before the Hellenic Parliament, Greece’s great satisfaction with President Sisi’s recent decree on the delimitation of the maritime border between Egypt and Libya. I believe it is a fact that the strategic relationship we have created with Egypt promotes regional security and stability.
This also applies to our relations with other countries that are contracting parties to the Treaty of Lausanne, the Treaty of Paris, and the Montreux Convention. Countries that affirm what is self-evident, namely the sovereignty of Greece and the sovereignty of Greece over its islands. Countries that reject Turkish fantasies. Fantasies that we will continue to deconstruct calmly and rationally using arguments based on International Law.
We will not slip into the sphere of absurdity or the sphere of aggression.
We believe that the 19th-century doctrines are long gone. And we are certain that the Turkish people, the vast majority of them, want peace; they do want stability and cooperation with Greece. Because these are the factors that bring growth and prosperity.
A Türkiye that will respect the UN Charter and the resolutions of the United Nations and will cooperate to settle problems within the framework of International Law and the International Law of the Sea.
This is our objective. This is the kind of Türkiye Greece is looking for. Just as it seeks good neighborly relations and stability with everyone in our wider region.
Ladies and gentlemen MPs, as I stated before, we have implemented a strategy based on six cycles. Firstly, we enhance our relations with our European partners. With countries such as France, we have developed strategic relations.
Second, we have upgraded our relations with the United States to a top priority, assisted, I must say, by the significant Greek Diaspora. I have signed two amendments to the Defence Cooperation Agreement.
In terms of support for our positions on capital issues, you are witnessing the fruits not only from the U.S. government. Please note the legislative power in the United States. Legislation including the “EastMed Act” and the “U.S. – Greece Defense and Interparliamentary Partnership Act” indicate the level of our countries’ relations.
Third, we have promoted the consolidation of security and stability in the wider region of the Middle East, the Gulf, and North Africa. We have developed very close relations with Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. We foresaw the new security architecture of the region even before the Abraham Accords were published. We perceived in advance the rapprochement of the Arab countries with Israel.
Fourth, we have promoted stability and peace in the Balkans, especially in the Western Balkans. I believe everyone in the room, or nearly everyone, agrees that joining the European family is our sole option for peace and stability. Next week I will be touring the Western Balkans.
Fifth, we have established relations with powers that share the same views, values, and beliefs as we do on International Law and on the International Law of the Sea. Japan, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Australia, with whom we are linked by the Greek Diaspora.
We have not forgotten Africa, the continent with the greatest economic and population growth. I have visited nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We have opened a new Embassy in Senegal, the first one in French-speaking West Africa.
We have also pursued our participation in regional organizations: Lusophony, ASEAN, and SICA, where we were granted observer status on December 9. Organizations we had not previously participated in.
Sixth, we have strengthened our presence in International Organizations, in all multilateral fora, maintaining relations with all members of the United Nations Security Council, aside from the United States and France.
Our relations with the United Kingdom, and China are well-known.
For the first time in our history, we have been running three election campaigns. The first one is for the United Nations Security Council for the 2025-2026 term, the second for the Human Rights Council in 2028-2030, where we have never been elected before, and the last one for the Presidency of the United Nations General Assembly in 2035, where we have also never been elected before.
We also do not forget the environment. It is the great, global challenge of our times. In this regard, we are organizing, together with the USA, the “Our Ocean Conference” in 2024.
Ladies and gentlemen MPs, our foreign policy is not isolated from the Greek citizens. It concerns each and every one of us.
First of all, as regards the sense of security, but also in terms of boosting tourism, and increasing direct foreign investment. In the period 2020 – 2021, we reached 5.3 billion. We surpassed 40 billion in exports. Greek diplomacy acknowledges the importance of contributing to the economic sector. It has now entered the 21st century. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should likewise enter the 21st century. And to that end, we are making structural reforms in Services Abroad, streamlining Services Abroad, and implementing pioneering digital projects. To cut a long story short, in two years’ time there will be a completely different Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We have increased human and financial resources; 150 new employees have joined the Ministry and operating costs have increased by 33%, from 48 million in 2020 to 64 million.
All this proves and highlights something else, which you are all aware of since we are discussing the budget: Under the Mitsotakis government, Greece has grown at double the European average rate of 5.6%.
Apart from economic growth, however, there is a major challenge: maintaining our social cohesion and supporting the economically weak, because we are all aware that there is inflation.
And New Democracy is, by definition, a people’s party and a highly moral party. Because we are all aware in this room that New Democracy has not been the main political choice of this country’s economic elites.
We have clashed numerous times in the history of our party, and I have to admit that we have been defeated many times. Allow me to remind you of the proposed reform on the “Substantial Shareholder” in public procurement. But even our defeats make me tremendously proud. Because those defeats are the moral legacy of our party. They are living proof that New Democracy with its choices “was on the right side” in big confrontations.
Dear colleagues, the national strategy of recent years has made Greece a credible and reliable player. A country with ambition and self-confidence. A country that has grown during the last 3.5 years.
It has grown metaphorically, as much as literally. It is the first time since 1947 that we have expanded our national territory. And these national successes bear the stamp of the first tenure of the Mitsotakis government.
They do, however, create national acquis- and that belongs to everyone. And the Greek Parliament must support and strengthen the national acquis, far from petty partisan calculations.
Because I can’t stop reminding you that Hellenism has always been divided on foreign policy issues. Whether during the 1821 revolution, the national division in 1915, the great catastrophe in 1920-22, or the Civil War in 1944. We have always paid a high price for it.
So, I am confident that we will avoid the challenges of the past, and that we will seek consensus on major national decisions. And I would like to assure you that the New Democracy Government, in its second term following the elections, will continue to successfully defend our national interest.
Thank you very much.
SECOND INTERVENTION
Mr. Speaker, please just allow me one comment. I do not intend to offer an extended response, which would be appropriate to some of the issues highlighted by the honorable colleagues during parliamentary scrutiny, as well as those raised in private briefings of the parties’ representatives or in our discussions in the Ministry, which, in any case, you know are regular.
So, I would like to make just one comment on the F-16s issue. Some of the information about the US agreement to modernize the Turkish F-16s, appearing in the online media and press is not accurate.
It is not accurate. Aside from that, it is not proper, nor in our national interest, for the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs to predetermine the stance of the superpower’s government or the legislative bodies.
That would be wrong. For us, it would be wrong. It might be beneficial for New Democracy in view of the elections, yet it would be detrimental to the country.
But quite frankly, in addition to the regular party representatives’ briefings, I am always at your disposal. The next round will take place immediately, at the beginning of next year.
I am available to provide you with any information you require. I’m also available for any constructive comments you may have. Because the Mitsotakis government does not claim that it does everything perfectly or is the exclusive proprietor of the absolute truth.
We are at your disposal to discuss and make improvements and corrections. However, thank you very much. Because, always, I reiterate it and I have to acknowledge it – and that’s an accomplishment – it has not always been this way; I have been in this Room for several years now. Because as regards foreign policy affairs, the National Delegation and the parties have always acted responsibly, as circumstances and challenges dictate.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.