My dear Ivica, first of all, I’d like to congratulate you on taking office as Foreign Minister and also to express my pleasure in welcoming you today, once again, as Foreign Minister in Athens.
I very much appreciate that you chose Athens as your first capital to visit. After all, we’ve met countless times, but your choice today is symbolic, and I’d like to publicly thank you for that.
As is well known, Greece attaches particular importance to its relations with Serbia. Historical relations, friendly relations. I have visited Serbia four times as Foreign Minister, twice within the last year, and I am confident that I will visit it once again very soon so as to confirm what we all know: firstly, that our ties go back into the depths of History. We fought together, under difficult circumstances, in two Balkan Wars, in two World Wars as well.
As everyone knows, I come from Corfu, which is linked to Serbian history. I will never forget the famous ballad that you sing better than anyone else, “Tamo Daleko” (“There Far Away”), which, for those who are not familiar with that period’s history, concerns the presence of the Serbian army in Corfu, the enormous sacrifices made by the Serbian people in the First World War.
After all, the seat of the Serbian Government during the First World War and the Serbian Consulate are only a few meters away from my law office in Corfu. Our ties, however, are not only historical; there is no need to go back in time; they are also extremely strong nowadays.
And today we had the opportunity to discuss the prospects for the development of our bilateral relations in the fields of economy, energy, and culture. We will continue our talks during lunch immediately afterwards and we will discuss defense, as well.
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We talked about the upcoming 4th High-Level Cooperation Council, and the Greek economic presence in Serbia, which is significant and has created thousands of jobs.
We also want to expand our economic presence in Serbia, as well as Greek investment in your country. Greece is now out of the crisis; it is developing in the Balkans and globally.
We also had discussions on energy security, the need to create sources of energy supply for Serbia, and communication channels to the country.
There is an increased Greek interest in your European future, in the creation of communication routes, roads, and railway lines, between the European Union and Serbia, leading to Greece.
Unfortunately, I have to say that the Western Balkans today continue to face significant challenges; destabilization, revisionist narratives, and revisionist forces exist and operate in the region at a time when the international community’s attention is focused on Ukraine.
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And there are many forces that would like Serbia not to be part of the European family, and not join the EU.
Greece, I reiterate, will help Serbia on its European path. And it believes that Serbia is too important a state in the Balkans to be excluded from our common European family.
Greece strongly supports Serbia’s European perspective. And we are willing to provide any technical assistance that Serbia deems necessary.
Regarding the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Greece supports the achievement of a political compromise solution in accordance with International Law and UN Security Council resolutions.
And, of course, any unilateral decision must take place within the agreed-upon framework of the dialogue in order for progress to be achieved. Any actions that could jeopardize the very fragile balance that has been achieved should be avoided.
We have been following very closely the latest developments, which we have also discussed bilaterally.
I also had the opportunity, and I will do so again during lunch, to inform you about Turkey’s continuous provocations against Greece. It is certainly not Greece that wishes or fosters tension. It is not Greece that wishes or cultivates escalation.
As a matter of principle, Greece has always been in favour of constructive dialogue, but always on the basis of respect for International Law and in this case, which is of particular importance, for the International Law of the Sea.
With one fundamental principle though: respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States. And I am aware that these are the same principles that Serbia embraces.
And I would like to thank you for the very clear and plain language you used in your interview with Kathimerini newspaper today as well as your strong support for the territorial integrity of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus at sea, in the air, on the ground.
And this statement carries great significance. Not because it comes from the Foreign Minister of a friendly country. But primarily because it comes from the Foreign Minister of a country that is a signatory to the Treaty of Lausanne, the Montreux Convention, and the Treaty of Paris. It, therefore, carries particular weight.
My dear Ivica, I’d like to thank you again for the special honour you bestowed upon me today, for the special honour you bestowed upon my country by coming here on your first visit.
I look forward to working with you again in order to contribute together both to the progress of our countries and our peoples, but primarily, to the consolidation of peace, security, and cooperation in the Balkans and, ultimately, in Europe, because the Balkans are particularly important to Europe. History has unequivocally demonstrated this.
Once again, welcome to Athens; it is a pleasure to have you with us today.