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M. Varvitsiotis: Greece will not turn from a country into a transit point for refugees and immigrants

“The Greek government is monitoring the Turkish provocation with calmness and determination,” underlined Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, after the meeting he had with the Slovak Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Martin Klus, who is visiting Greece.

“That is why yesterday the KYSEA decided on a series of measures, among which is the extension of the fence to the Evros to prevent any instrumentalization of the immigration issue once again by Turkey”, he noted.

“We want to be clear: among the main obligations of the country, as a member of the EU and Schengen, is to protect and guard the European borders and not to give reasons to violate the Schengen regulation, which provides for border controls. It has never refused Greece for any asylum seeker to apply and thousands of them have been accepted by the Greek authorities”.

“Greece will not turn from a country into a transit point for refugees and immigrants who want to take refuge in other European countries in order to obtain rights related to a high standard of living”, he pointed out characteristically and noted that “many times the need for protection is misunderstood of the European borders, which is a cornerstone of our country’s European obligations”.

Mr. Varvitsiotis underlined that “Slovakia has spoken openly against Turkish aggression in the Aegean and has always been firmly on the side of Greece and Cyprus regarding Turkish attacks”.

He characterized the relationship between the two countries as “excellent” at all levels, both bilaterally and at the level of the European agenda, while he also referred to the hundreds of thousands of Slovak tourists who chose our country for their holidays.

As he pointed out, the two countries share common European values ​​and their views coincide on almost all issues.

The deputy minister pointed out that Europe needs more cooperation and more coordination in order to deal with the energy crisis and a strong response to the Russian attack in Ukraine.

“In critical times, such as those we are going through due to the many and varied crises, what our citizens need from Europe is more coordination, cooperation, a stronger voice, stronger support for those in need, but also the need to maintain a strong position on the world stage and keep Europe strong as a Union of values ​​in this very difficult time,” he said.

The bilateral contacts of the two countries will culminate with the visit of the President of Slovakia next week to Athens, with today’s meeting being a preparation for this important visit.

M. Klus: The security and territorial integrity of the states is very important for us

“I assure everyone in Greece that Slovakia will always be very strict when it comes to the issue of ensuring the security of the region and the territorial integrity of the states, it is very important for us,” underlined the Slovak Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and noted that Slovakia will always send the necessary messages regarding the Aegean.

“We did it with Ukraine and Georgia, and we will always support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the countries,” he noted.

He also referred to the issue of the Western Balkans, which was discussed in his meeting with Mr. Varvitsiotis.

As he pointed out, “no one understands the region better than Greece”, while noting that there are many obstacles to enlargement.

“EU enlargement will never be completed without the integration of the Western Balkans. It is the best way to promote sustainability, freedom, solidarity and a better future for the Western Balkans,” he concluded.

Source: RES-MPE

Source: Capital

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