Good afternoon, dear Minister, dear Nicu.Thank you so much for hosting me in Chisinau today. I think in this year that we are celebrating the 200 years of independence, this is a great place for a Greek Foreign Minister to be. This is the second time I meet the Moldovan Foreign Minister in the space of just three months. I met your predecessor at the margins of the Conference of the Global Coalition in Rome. There has not been such a frequency of meetings for years. The last Greek Foreign Minister to be here was in 2014.This is not something that we can be proud of.And the fact that now we meet much more often speaks for itself. It underlines the importance we attach to our relationship with Moldova. And also may I add so, it is a pity that it took so long. We want to have strong relations based on our very strong historical ties and traditionally friendly relations. The Greek people living in Moldova and the Moldovan people in Greece constitute a connecting tie, a bridge, between our two countries. The Agreement on Social Security to be signed here today will certainly improve the working conditions for both Communities. Unfortunately, our economic ties do not reflect the level of our relations. In order to remedy this situation, we should convene as soon as possible the Joint Ministerial Committee, which has not met since 2016. We are working closely together in the context of International Organisations. We are grateful for your support of our candidature for a position in the UN Security Council. And we look forward to expand our cooperation in the context of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Today, we discussed also the issue of Transdniestria. Greece, as a principle, fully supports the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Moldova. However, today, the main focus of our discussion was Moldova’s European perspective. We believe that the EU-Moldova Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area should be implemented to their fullest extent, to create solid results for the Moldovan economy and the Moldovan society.We are ready and willing to provide technical assistance in order to help Moldova carry out the necessary reforms, which we discussed before. We are here to support and assist the government of Moldova according to the expressed wishes of the society. Enhancing your European perspective will be beneficial not only for Moldova but for the stability in the region. In this vein, we encourage the EU’s Eastern partners to continue their efforts in strengthening institutions and promoting good governance. I take this opportunity also to encourage Moldova to align itself more closely with EU decisions and declarations on foreign policy issues. I took the liberty – as among friends the truth should always be mentioned and should be addressed - to say that we were particularly distressed that the previous government did not condemn the illegal Turkish actions in Cyprus.I hope that the new government, expressing the will of the Moldovan people, will do everything possible to approach the country to the EU. And, please allow me to say, openly and clearly, with all frankness, that the Greek government, the government of Prime Minister Mitsotakis, will be here to help you, as much as you wish and as much as we can, with your effort to join the EU. Let us hope that you will become a member sooner than later. Thank you so much.
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