Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ statement following his meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, Luigi Di Maio (Rome, 08.11.2021)

Caro Luigi,
è sempre un grande piacere tornare in Italia.
Venendo da Corfù, mi sento quasi a casa.
Come tanti Italiani si sentono a casa, quando vengono in Grecia.

My presence here today has to do primarily with a very pleasant event; the exchange of instruments of the ratification of the Agreement on the delimitation of our maritime zones which paves the way for the start of its implementation.

This symbolic act is exceptionally important. It marks the settlement of an issue pending for 45 years and highlights our exemplary relations with Italy, both within the European Union, where we also work very closely with my friend, the Minister, and at bilateral level.

We enjoy close relations that encompass the full range of areas such as trade and investment. Italy holds one of the most prominent positions in the Greek market and we have achieved a lot. But we can achieve even more in areas such as tourism, culture, education, where we closely cooperate.

Close cooperation between Greece and Italy is no news and this is the way it should be. It is the natural state of affairs between two neighbouring, friendly countries.
Today’s exchange of instruments of ratification also indicates the commitment of both countries, Greece and Italy, to upholding International Law and especially the Law of the Sea.
The Italian Senate recently confirmed this commitment through the adoption of the bill on maritime zones, taking UNCLOS into account.

Our common will is for all Mediterranean countries to embrace these values, the adherence to international law and UNCLOS. This will contribute to regional stability.

Greece has always been open to strengthening multilateral cooperation, but only on this basis. Unfortunately, we are still far from realizing this prospect.

Today, Luigi and I thoroughly examined all these common challenges. And as always happens between friends, we had an open and very constructive discussion.

I informed him that Turkey, unfortunately, continues its infringing conduct in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region, disregarding fundamental principles of international law, and continues to make threats against Greece.

For Turkey, the casus belli, the threat of war, still stands against Greece. It is the only country on the planet that has issued a threat of war against another country.

But threats are also being made against the Republic of Cyprus. I explained that this does not concern only Greece and Cyprus; it concerns our family as a whole, the European Union, and of course Italy, a very important and large country in the Mediterranean.

We discussed in detail developments in Libya and the recent worrying news we had regarding the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Najla Al Mangoush.

I stressed the need for the Summit, to be held in Paris, co-chaired by Italy, to send a clear message, both for the withdrawal of foreign troops and mercenaries and the holding of elections.

We discussed the Western Balkans, where the latest developments have not been encouraging. And I think we have both agreed that the European Union should clearly and unequivocally support the European perspective of the Western Balkans, of course with the well-known conditionality, sending a clear message to the societies of these countries.

As is well known, Greece continues to clearly support the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.

But on the other hand, I want to be completely honest, the governments and societies of the countries in our region should avoid the temptation of the sirens of nationalism being heard lately.

There should not be the slightest setback to what has been achieved with great difficulty and great effort.

Luigi and I also discussed the challenges that Europe has to address.

Greece and Italy are at the forefront of tackling migration problems, on which we agreed to have even closer cooperation. Both Greece and Italy receive large migratory flows. This is a common European problem, which calls for a common European solution. We made the commitment to the Italian side to cooperate more closely, as regards migration flows from Libya, which constitutes the main migratory route.

We also discussed climate change, the need to diversify the energy mix, and at the same time to tackle the issue of energy supply in Europe until the green transition is complete.

Overall, we agreed that European solidarity is absolutely necessary.

Caro Luigi, caro amico,
Tra i nostri paesi, c’è sempre tanto da discutere.
Dobbiamo rinforzare ancora di più i nostri contatti.
Per quello, spero che verrai di nuovo ad Atene prossimamente.
Grazie per la tua ospitalità.