Interventions of Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defense and Foreign Affairs during the consideration of the Foreign Ministry’s draft law on “Determining the breadth of territorial waters in the maritime zone of the Ionian and the Ionian Islands up to Tainaro” INTRODUCTORY INTERVENTIONLadies and gentlemen, colleagues, as you know, Mr. Chairman, I don't usually take the floor at the beginning of a session. Only at the end, when I have heard all of our colleagues. But allow me – due to the historic nature of this moment, as this is the first time since 1947 that the Hellenic Parliament has been called upon to increase the area of national sovereignty – to say that the government recommends that the National Delegation use our country’s inalienable right to increase our territorial waters in the region of the Ionian Sea, up to Tainaro, from 6 to 12 nautical miles. This will increase the area of national sovereignty by 10,079 square kilometres, and if one also takes into account the area created by the legal closing of bays, in accordance with international law, it exceeds 13,000 square kilometres. As I assume that no one has kept the numbers in their head since we did geography in school, for purposes of comparison it is worth noting that the total area of Greece is 131,000 square kilometres. The area of Crete, to give you a clearer example, is a little over 8,500 square kilometres. So, it is a great honour for me, on behalf of the Mitsotakis government, to recommend that the Hellenic Parliament pass this draft law. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. SECOND INTERVENTIONMr. Chairman, colleagues, I will be extremely brief following the long process. First of all, I would like to thank the parties and my colleagues for truly showing national solidarity. We didn’t have the usual climate of disagreements, the effort for some to score political points. There was broad consensus on the key position, which, as many colleagues rightly said, was not, in the past, the standing stance of Greek foreign policy.This stance is a product of an internal procedure, both at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the country’s political system, and it is extremely important that this approach is being met with broad national consensus, support, agreement and solidarity. Allow me to include the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in this framework. The framework of national solidarity. Beyond that, there isn’t much that one can say. Greece is exercising a sovereign right. It is exercising it in the Ionian, up to Tainaro. Greece – and I say this so that it can be recorded in the minutes and be heard in this hall, but mainly beyond this hall – fully reserves its right to extend its territorial waters and exercise its national sovereign rights. It is inconceivable that, in any way, it might renounce any of these rights. I repeat the words of the country’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, by saying that the next phase will concern the area south of Crete. The relevant studies are under way on that. By the same token, Greek fully retains the right to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in the Aegean as well. In this regard, I would like to note as extremely important – verging on the historic – the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov during his visit to Athens a few weeks ago, in which he made perfectly clear his country’s position on our country’s sovereign right. Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, during the time the Prime Minister has honoured me with the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs, I have followed one rule that, on his instructions, I shall continue to follow. To keep the parties abreast of the tactical moves of Greek foreign policy. I say tactical moves because I believe that the strategic moves follow the basic lines on which the country has agreed. In this context, as the party representatives know, we will be meeting next Monday. So, if there are any questions on the details that led to the resumption of the exploratory talks, I will be prepared to respond and clarify. We’re not talking about a conspiracy or anything that should take up the time of the Hellenic Parliament.Regarding the text of the legislation, I have noted the technical legal changes requested by my dear friend the rapporteur of the main opposition party. We will look at it during this time. Today, in any case, we will propose a technical legal change that I will submit in the report on the presidential decree closing the bays. We will add the “as applicable in each case,” because at some point the country may want to amend this in some way. And I think there is a matter of the Gulf of Corinth that might be worth looking at. Regarding what you said to me, Mrs. Sakorafa, if you like, on Monday – so as not to go into a technical matter here – I would be happy to clarify it for you. I’ve checked it. I think this was an exceptional day in the Hellenic Parliament. A day of unanimity, solidarity, national understanding, national consensus. One of the rare such occasions in the life of an MP, a Minister. I’m deeply moved. I thank you warmly for your stance, which fully serves the national interest. Thank you very much.
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