N. Dendias: Greece pursues a multidimensional foreign policy of principles

“This is a black hour,” Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said during the discussion on the “Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Hellenic Republic and the Government of the United Arab Emirates” on “the shadow cast in Europe by the conflict in Ukraine”. Emirates on joint cooperation in foreign policy and defense and verbal communications on the Greek original text of the Agreement “.

Informing about the return of Consul General Manolis Androulakis from Mariupol, the minister estimated that by tomorrow night he will have passed into EU territory, as although yesterday he was on his way to Zaporizhia, today the city was bombed and it was necessary to modify the their route.

Responding to the question asked by opposition MPs about “whether our country tried to reduce the consequences for the expatriates”, he stated that “we had warned both the Greek citizens and the expatriate” and referred to the announcements of the Foreign Minister made on 11, 14 and On February 24, we “asked them to leave the country”, while he reminded that he also visited both Mariupol and Moscow. He noted that “so far we have organized five evacuation operations and we hope to achieve a sixth” and added that “it is a tragic moment and the least we all owe is to be absolutely serious.”

Responding to criticism from Greek Solution President Kyriakos Velopoulos that a Greek-owned oil tanker owned by the media had loaded fuel from a Russian port, the minister said “there is no ban on exporting energy to our sanctions and this is not the case. this government that will make the Greek navy an apologist “.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the basic principles on which Greece’s foreign policy is based are humanitarian law, the inviolability of territorial integrity, compliance with international organizations in which NATO and the EU participate.

Responding to objections from the official opposition, Mr. Dendias stressed that Greece pursues a broader policy, “not outside its principles” and pointed out that the country’s needs in an era of globalization are changing, as our historical interlocutors have changed and not he can stay “where he was in the 80’s” because “that would be a great ostrich.

Greek-Turkish relations

In this context, he agreed that Greece does not pursue a policy in contrast to Turkey. “We have an independent policy with our own national priorities, with our own national interests and our own principles, where of course we take full account of the Turkish threat but we are not identified by it. We do not pursue an anti-Turkish policy,” he said. He noted that “we all hope that the time will come when Turkey can move away from its irrational claims, resolve differences and live together”, which “would create a frightening dynamic of security and stability from such an agreement”. , however, assessed “this is not easy to see in our lifetime”.

Arab Relations

Regarding the UAE Agreement, he said that cooperation with a country that is strong and “such defense agreements are not signed every day” is not self-evident. Pointing out that “I do not associate it with Turkey”, he asked the opposition MPs who have reservations whether the IEA will assist Greece defensively in an engagement with Turkey, to observe that “during the great crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean four F-16 Blook 60s, with 130 personnel, were at the airport of Chania “and urged” do not be tempted to think that everything the country is doing is under the lens of an anti-Turkish omen, because it is not needed “.

“We are not opposed to our friends and allies negotiating with Turkey, concluding agreements, because that is how Turkey listens to what it’s supposed to hear. And if Turkey turns to join the ranks of countries that accept international law,” he said. “The UN Charter, which does not threaten other states with the use of force, so much the better for Turkey and for all of us.”

Continuing, the minister said that the foreign policy of the Mitsotakis government is a policy of successive cycles and this second cycle includes the countries of Africa and the wider region. “We have never had the relations we now have with Egypt, with Saudi Arabia – and these are not indifferent, but they do not mean that we accept the whole legal framework of these countries,” Dendias stressed.

He announced in advance that our foreign policy would extend beyond India, “to the archipelago countries that have the same views as us on UNCLOS, to Africa, which I have already visited six times.”

The Foreign Minister stressed that “we must acknowledge the need for a new comprehensive architecture”, “we can not be limited to our narrow geographical area of ​​the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. We need to develop” for Greece, not of narrow interest, but of a wider security question “. We have an obligation to our country, said Mr. Dendias, “to expand our horizons without a micro-magnification complex, without pretending to be something we are not, without envisioning geopolitical expansions, but defending our interests and principles and our finances.” interests”.

Commenting on the wider vote in favor of the Agreement with the EEA, Mr. Dendias said that it shows that we have entered a stage of national maturity, noting that “the great national divisions in our country took place in matters of foreign policy and are therefore a great asset for the people and the homeland that we can see the great challenges of the present and the future together and unite creating a tight national front and move forward. ”

SOURCE: AMPE