Dear Ararat,
Thank you so much for your warm words. We have met many times. In New York, a few days ago, with our trilateral meeting with our Cypriot colleague Ioannis Kasoulides.
And thank you for appreciating that my presence here, in Yerevan today, has a symbolic status, and that I was back in Yerevan two years ago.
Let me be clear and frank, we have repeatedly, we Greece, underlined that we support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. So, that goes also for our dear friends, the Armenians, Armenia. We believe in the inviolability of borders, and I am referring to the incidents that happened just a few days ago following the shelling of Armenian territory, including inhabited areas, by the Azeri military forces. And I would like to quote President Macron who said yesterday, I quote exactly: “I strongly condemn what happened in recent days and call for peace and resumption of negotiations”.
So, I am here to express our solidarity with the Armenian government and the Armenian people. The historic relations between our two countries go back centuries. The substantial Armenian community in Greece, including thousands of Greek citizens, several of whom are my personal friends, is a strong connecting bond.
I would also like to send a clear message, today, to countries that seek to redraw maps. And my message is that revisionist policies will fail. To mention a revisionist power, Turkey is trying to take advantage of the recent turmoil in order to undermine peace and stability. Be it in the Caucasus, or the Aegean.
We Greeks witness an escalation of Turkish rhetoric. Just yesterday, allow me to say, Turkey protested that Greece is sending a few defensive weapons to the Greek island of Lesvos. This was done while Greece was acting in line with our obligations, as these obligations emanate from the Lausanne Treaty. Turkey, to cut a long story short, is protesting because Greece does not allow its territories defenseless. Who? Turkey that has issued a casus belli, a threat of war against Greece and has the largest landing fleet a few miles away from the Aegean islands.
We have repeatedly stated that we are ready and willing to engage in a constructive dialogue with Turkey. On the basis of International Law. But, we also stand ready to defend our country and to defend our rights. And I am asking my Turkish friends to not get it wrong. We will do whatever it takes to defend our country. We will do whatever it takes to defend our rights.
Today, also, we discussed security challenges in the Caucasus. I would like to thank you dear Ararat, for your briefing. I also look forward to meeting Prime Minister Pashinyan and Defence Minister Papikyan.
As far as we are concerned, our position on Nagorno-Karabakh remains unchanged. We support achieving a peaceful, mutually acceptable solution within the framework of International Law. International Law is the “Holy Gospel” of our foreign policy. And in this regard, we also salute the courage of Prime Minister Pashinyan who proposed a new approach for a new future in this region. Just like President Macron said yesterday.
But solutions and peace cannot be built when there is threat of force. That applies to the Caucasus region, that applies to the world. And of course, I include the Eastern Mediterranean.
Greece will continue to support the resumption of bilateral negotiations, as well as the European Union’s and the United States’ contributions to this effort; also facilitated by the OSCE Minsk Group. We also stand ready, along with other EU partners, to help in mediating towards a possible solution.
Because at the end of the day, we cannot change geography. But people have an opportunity to live peacefully side by side. We also believe that humanitarian issues have to be resolved immediately. And International Humanitarian Law has to be respected.
My dear Ararat,
Τoday we also had the chance to review our excellent bilateral relations. Historical tragedies tie us together. The Hellenic Parliament recognized the Armenian genocide in 1996. The Armenian Parliament recognized the genocide of the Greeks and Assyrians in 2015.
We have an exemplary cooperation in international organizations. And let me please express my gratitude for your support concerning the illegal occupation of part of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus. Also, we are very happy to mutually support our candidacies for the UN Security Council. And we are looking forward to enhancing our trilateral partnership with Cyprus to a new level. As we discussed in New York, we need to work towards enhancing the EU-Armenia relationship. And I will seek to ensure an invitation for you to address the EU Foreign Affairs Council the earliest possible and brief them on what is happening.
Me dear Ararat,
I have only one wish. That next time I will be here in Yerevan to spend more time on how we could move our cooperation further, both bilaterally and multilaterally. Without having to discuss the issues that we discussed this time. And that we will not have, hopefully, that time to address security challenges.
Thank you again for your very warm reception and warm hospitality.