N. Dendias: Turkey’s revisionist behavior destabilizes wider regions

Turkey’s revisionist behavior destabilizes wider regions, in the Aegean, in the Balkans, in the Middle East, in the Caucasus, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in a joint statement after meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Athens.

As Mr. Dendias pointed out, he informed his counterpart “about the escalation of Turkish delinquency, both at the level of rhetoric and at the level of violations”.

The Foreign Minister referred to the excellent relations between the peoples of Greece and Armenia, which are lost in the depths of the centuries and the strongest connecting links, which constitute the very important Armenian community in Greece, which includes thousands of Greek citizens and the Greek community in Armenia.

He reminded that Greece stood by Armenia in difficult times and stressed that “this will always happen”.

I also visited Yerevan in October 2020, when hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region were already under way, in order to express its solidarity with the Armenian side.

Solidarity, he stressed, was not limited to words, as Greece, responding to the request of Armenian organizations in our country and with the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, carried out two humanitarian aid missions.

“The geopolitical environment has changed radically since then, but the Greek position has not changed regarding Nagorno-Karabakh,” Dendias said.

“We support the achievement of a peaceful and mutually acceptable solution within the framework of international law, which is always the Gospel of our foreign policy.”

“Dialogue must continue. And unilateral actions must be avoided that would, again, endanger peace and security.”

He also stressed that Greece supports the resumption of negotiations within the Minsk Group, as well as the European Union’s contribution to these issues and stressed that “humanitarian issues should be resolved immediately and international humanitarian law should be respected.”

He also expressed Greece’s support for the sending of an independent UNESCO commission to the region, in order to examine issues related to the protection of cultural heritage.

He referred to the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, which are historically connected, as the Greek Parliament recognized the Armenian genocide in 1996, while the Armenian Parliament recognized the Greek and Assyrian genocide in 2015.

He pointed out that the cooperation in the International Organizations is always exemplary and thanked Armenia for supporting the Greek positions on issues related to the illegal occupation of part of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, the UN, the Council of Europe and UNESCO.

The two countries have also decided to support each other in their nominations for the United Nations Security Council.

Mr. Dendias also referred to the holding of the first tripartite meeting between Greece, Armenia and Cyprus on issues of the Diaspora, recently convened by Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Katsaniotis in Patras, during which a relevant memorandum of cooperation was signed.

He also said that it was agreed to hold a tripartite meeting at the level of foreign ministers in Yerevan as soon as possible, as a first step for the meeting of the leaders of the three countries.

He also stressed the need to improve trade between Greece and Armenia and noted that the meeting was negotiated and the Deputy Foreign Minister Costas Frangogiannis will take care to have a targeted approach with targeted meetings between businessmen.

“Greece supports the initiative for the creation of an international transport and transit corridor between the Gulf and the Black Sea,” said Mr. Dendias.

“We are also in favor of strengthening EU-Armenia relations,” he added. “We believe that Armenia can be a bridge between the Union and the wider Caucasus region and beyond.”

In this context, after the meeting, a memorandum of cooperation on European Union issues was signed by the two ministers.

Foreign Minister of Armenia: The tripartite cooperation between Greece and Armenia-Cyprus is an important tool for the promotion of security in the region

For his part, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan spoke about dynamically evolving relations, based on the long friendship and mutual assistance between Greece and Armenia.

“Armenians and Greeks have lived and created side by side”, he pointed out and reminded that this year marks 30 years since the beginning of Greek-Armenian diplomatic relations.

“I express my respect for the Armenian community in Greece and the Greek community in Armenia and I appreciate their contribution to the improvement of relations between the two countries and our peoples,” he noted.

“We believe that there are great potentials for improving the relations between Greece and Armenia”, he pointed out and added that the Greek-Armenian relations are developing not only bilaterally but also multilaterally.

He described the tripartite cooperation between Greece-Armenia and Cyprus as a very important initiative and a good tool for promoting security and peace in the region.

He stressed that Armenia supports the initiative to create a transport and transit corridor between the Gulf and the Black Sea.

The Armenian Foreign Minister also noted that he presented the situation created in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Armenia’s position on achieving peace in the region and the negotiations for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

He also stressed the importance of the Minsk Group in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Armenia appreciates Greece’s position in favor of resolving the conflict,” he said, stressing that he did not forget that the Greek minister visited Yerevan during the 44-day war to express the support of Greece and the Greek people to a great extent. critical period.

“The issues of prisoners of war and the displaced have not been resolved. All the civilized countries of the world should contribute and force Azerbaijan to return the prisoners of war to us,” he said.

He also stressed that the cultural heritage is in danger of immediate destruction, as many monuments, many churches in the Nagorno-Karabakh region have been desecrated or destroyed.

“We expect a continuous and targeted response from the international community to this attitude of Azerbaijan. Our goal is peace, we want to build a safe and peaceful area,” he concluded.