“If Turkey aspires to an honest and consistent relationship with the EU, it must abandon pretext tactics and demonstrably de-escalate the tension that Turkey itself has created”, stressed Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, among other things, in his interview in the ‘I Vradyni tis Kyriakis’ with journalist Vangelis Giakoumis. Mr Varvitsiotis further noted that “it is Greece's long-standing position that we remain open to dialogue on the basis of the principles of International Law for our single existing dispute with Turkey: the delimitation of maritime zones. Of course, a prerequisite for any exploratory talks to commence is for Turkey to prove in practice that it wishes for dialogue by abandoning its provocative and illegal actions in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean permanently and not incidentally. The Alternate Minister added that “our national positions are clear and non-negotiable”.Entire interview below: Minister, Turkey's provocations have increased lately in the form of new, continuous NAVTEX. We see that each time the Turkish President gets through a Summit, we go back to the same old story. How long will this situation go on? The Greek side is vigilant in terms of both operations and diplomacy. Turkey's challenges did not sidetrack the long-standing aims of our foreign policy at any stage. The government’s choice to underline the European dimension of the problem has proven instrumental, re-framing the discussion on Turkey's provocations at the EU level and shifting the responsibility for meaningful de-escalation onto Ankara. At the most recent European Council meeting, the EU decided to reassess its relationship with Turkey as a whole, with a strategic way forward and a clear time-line. Moreover, if Turkey aspires to an honest and consistent relationship with the EU, it must abandon pretext tactics and demonstrably de-escalate the tension that Turkey itself has created. At the same time, we are seeing Macron shifting towards Merkel, who does not wish for sanctions on Turkey; as a result, the EU cannot react firmly to the provocations. The EU is currently being called upon to take on a new role of responsibility that honours its principles and value system and adapts to the new, volatile conditions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey’s provocative behaviour threatens security in the wider region, as well as the EU's very credibility — and this has now been understood within the EU. President Macron has long spoken of the need to deepen the EU's “strategic autonomy”, while the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, recently stated that “while we and Turkey are close together on the map, the distance between us appears to be growing”. The handling of Turkey's provocations within the EU will determine its strategic orientation in the future. In any event, Greece will play a leading part in this course, as well as in the dialogue on the Future of Europe, which will commence within 2021. The opposition accuses the government of appeasement. What is your response? It is Greece's long-standing position that we remain open to dialogue on the basis of the principles of International Law for our single existing dispute with Turkey: the delimitation of maritime zones. Of course, a prerequisite for any exploratory talks to commence is for Turkey to prove in practice that it wishes for dialogue by abandoning its provocative and illegal actions in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean permanently and not incidentally. Our national positions are clear and non-negotiable. Foreign policy issues leave no room for partisan tactics meant for domestic consumption. [...] In the face of constant challenges, we need national unity and an unbroken national front. Are you concerned about Erdoğan's new strategy on the migration issue? The instrumentalisation of migration flows from Turkey at our Evros borders in March was a “hybrid attack” which our government handled successfully and decisively, as positively noted by Europe. Since then, Greece has also achieved similar success in monitoring Europe's maritime borders, in cooperation with FRONTEX. The cooperation of national and European services in guarding Greece’s borders over the last year has been an overall response to future hybrid and actual threats. With respect to the pandemic, is the government’s handling of matters appropriate? Handling the pandemic is a titanic project, not just at the national but also at the European level. The Mitsotakis government has already taken all the necessary actions at all levels in a coordinated manner: to procure vaccines, to strengthen the National Health System, to support professionals and businesses affected. We are following the experts’ instructions and implementing the most appropriate measures — measures which are necessary, proportionate and as targeted as possible in order to crest and successfully exit the second wave as we did the first. Obviously the response to the second wave, which has proven to be stronger, brought new circumstances that are testing the limits of the health system and citizens themselves. We cannot ignore the increase in the number of intubated ICU patients and in deaths. Nevertheless, the latest data indicate a drop in pandemic statistics, giving us reason for optimism going forward — so long as we celebrate these festive days with our families. The more careful we are today, the faster we will leave our homes tomorrow. I would also like to call upon citizens to vaccinate themselves: It is not the vaccine itself but vaccination that saves lives! The borders with Great Britain are once again closing due to the pandemic. What does this mean, particularly in view of Brexit? The situation in Great Britain appears to be exceptionally difficult, given the mutation of the virus which, combined with Brexit, can cause multiple disruptions. From the outset, the government made legislative and administrative preparations to safeguard the interests of our country and Greek citizens from the consequences of Brexit. As regards the pandemic, we have already taken the first measures by increasing the preventive quarantine for those arriving in Greece from the United Kingdom from 7 to 10 days and requiring the conduct of rapid tests. We cannot, under any circumstance, endanger public health. It is without question that the pandemic has changed our lives completely. Will the pandemic response, following the vaccine, which we all hope will have a positive effect, start from scratch through a government-initiated “restart” with a fresh mandate? What is important at the moment is to beat the virus. To make sure Greeks survive this adventure healthy and strong, so that we can embark on a bold “restart” the day after the pandemic, at both the economic and the social level. This is the essential “restart” which Greece needs and which we must focus on. After all, our country has a valuable tool at hand to carry out this restart: the 72-billion euro Recovery Fund. There is no need for a fresh mandate. There is but one mandate: the one of the 2019 elections, which persists. Greece takes priority! Furthermore, there is a relationship of trust between the Government — and the Prime Minister, in particular — and the Greek people. And we will not betray that trust.
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