Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen, it is a very great honor to be bringing before the Hellenic Parliament, on behalf of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the vote on this draft law, which provides for the exercise of our country’s right to extend its territorial waters in the region of the Ionian Sea, up to Cape Tenaro, from 6 to 12 nautical miles. This will expand the area of national sovereignty by over 13,000 square kilometres. This is the first time since 1947 that the National Parliament has been called to vote on increasing the area of national sovereignty. This is – I repeat – for exercise of full national sovereignty, not an area of sovereign rights. The Government proceeded to this move of major national importance exercising the country’s inalienable right, based on article 3 of the 1983 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is also a rule of customary international law. The draft law was submitted to Parliament following the issue of Presidential Decree 107/2020 on the closing of bays and drawing of straight baselines in the maritime zone of the Ionian and the Ionian islands up to Cape Tenaro. According to paragraph 2(1) of the draft law, the Hellenic Republic also reserves the right to extend its territorial waters, whenever it deems fit, in the other regions of its territory. I want to focus on this, because there was a major debate over where, how, when, who, what. Ladies and gentlemen, Greece is preparing, and retains its right, to extend its territorial waters anywhere in its territory, whenever it deems fit. I understand, of course, that all eyes are on Crete, because it comes under the memorandum signed with Egypt. But we are restricting the national right if we limit our discussion to Crete. Greece has the inalienable right to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles wherever and whenever it wants to. I want to be absolutely clear on this, here on the floor of our National Parliament. And I also want to welcome the extremely important, reiterated statement from the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, who called Greece’s extension of its territorial waters self-evident and perfectly legal. I would also like to thank the political parties and my colleagues, because until today the parliamentary procedure was carried out in a climate of national unity, without the usual unfounded recriminations and petty political calculations. The existence of national consensus on the key strategic lines of our country’s foreign policy was reconfirmed during my one-on-one meetings yesterday with the representatives of all the parties in parliament. Dear colleagues, respect for international law and international legality is a timeless principle. It is the firm guide of Greek foreign policy, regardless of which government is in office. But I should say that there is an additional dimension. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has also been ratified by the European Union. Consequently, I reiterate, it is part of the European acquis. Not just part of Greek national law. As such, it is binding for all of the countries of the European Union and for the European Union itself as an entity. And in a region and at a time characterized by major upheaval, the practical implementation of the provisions of International Law, including the Law of the Sea, takes on even greater importance. With the submission to the Hellenic Parliament of the draft law on extension of territorial waters in the Ionian, we are taking another step in the implementation of the national plan for the country’s maritime zones. The extension follows directly on the conclusion of agreements with Italy and Egypt on delimitation of maritime zones, and also our agreement on how to handle the issue with Albania. Thus, through the draft law under discussion, our country is adding to the legislation that has applied the relevant clause of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It thus consolidates the importance of the Convention’s provisions as concerns everyone, and particularly those who choose not to apply it or to ignore it. In other words, those few who consider operating outside the framework of international law. And here I must make special reference to our neighbour Turkey’s unacceptable tactic of threatening Greece with casus belli should we exercise our legal rights. The method we implemented, from a technical standpoint, in drawing the boundaries of our territorial waters, along with the closing of bays that preceded in the Presidential Decree, is in full accordance, ladies and gentlemen, with the International Law of the Sea. As you know, our country does not act to abuse, and does not covet the rights of other countries. It fully exercises its own rights, with full respect for international legality. The extension of our territorial waters in the Ionian enhances our security. It enlarges our footprint. At the same time, it enhances Greece’s international position, not only in relation to other countries with which we are building a network of synergies in our region to consolidate stability and security, but also in relation to those who do not share our principles. Ladies and gentlemen, this Greece, with its now larger zone of sovereignty, with – for some months now – larger zones in which it exercises sovereign rights, is creating a model. A model of consistency, methodicalness, compliance with legality, commitment to goals. And also a model of self-confidence. But I would like to take this opportunity – as many colleagues commented on this – to say a few words about the resumption of the exploratory talks. First of all, I want to remind you that the government, even when the crisis in our relations with Turkey was particularly intense, firmly reiterated its readiness for dialogue. ] But it always set the same clear conditions. It required that Turkey cease its provocative actions on our continental shelf; it required that the Oruc Reis withdraw. In December, the European Council adopted this same Greek position in its conclusions. It has been two months, ladies and gentlemen, since the Oruc Reis left. Almost two months. Consequently, the condition set by our country has been met. We can say that an opportunity for dialogue is being created. Always within the framework and on the level of exploratory talks. Greece is entering into this dialogue in good faith. It is entering into this dialogue with sincere willingness, because the national view is that problems are resolved through dialogue. Not through the use of force, and certainly not through threats of war. And naturally, as the government has said repeatedly, the exploratory talks concern solely our dispute over the EEZ and continental shelf. As was originally stipulated and as these talks have been carried out so far, thus they will continue. The resolution of this dispute has been expressly recognized, in fact, along with the object of the dispute, by the European Union – in the Conclusions of the European Council – and in an official statement from the U.S. Department of State. Turkey’s statement, as well, that the next meeting will be the 61st, clearly denotes the continuation of the process with precisely the same object it has had to date. And I would also like to recall that the dialogue resuming on 25 January is not a negotiation. It is a preliminary stage of talks aimed at considering any common perspectives and ascertaining to what extent there is ground for starting such a negotiation. It goes without saying that, for this dialogue to continue, the de-escalation that has already been achieved must not be jeopardised in the slightest. This is exactly what the European Council said in December, stressing that sustained de-escalation is required not only for resumption, but also for continuation of the exploratory talks. Finally, as we heard a great deal in this hall about the role of third countries, and especially Germany, but also the Albanian Prime Minister, I would like to recall that, in actuality, throughout its Presidency, Germany communicated on various levels with the two sides, promoting the resumption of Greek-Turkish dialogue. In the end, as you know, the agreement on the date for resumption of the exploratory talks was achieved and announced after the German Presidency had ended. And many friendly countries have from time to time offered to host any meeting that might be arranged between me and my Turkish counterpart. These countries include Albania, via the offer put forward by the Albanian Prime Minister. But we made it clear, in a timely fashion, to all of these countries that, first, the exploratory talks would have to resume, and, second, a new climate would have to be created in Greek-Turkish relations for me to meet with my counterpart. That was, is and remains our position. Ladies and gentlemen MPs, to sum up and reiterate, the passing of the draft law by the Plenary of the Hellenic Parliament is a step that will strengthen our national arsenal, in a climate of unwavering national solidarity. With the additional weapons of our recent agreements with the United States. And here I would like to refer to the outgoing U.S. Secretary of State, Mr. Pompeo, with whom we had excellent cooperation and who listened with favour to our country’s just stances. The agreement with Italy, the agreement with Egypt, the understanding reached with Albania on how to move forward, the agreements with the United Arab Emirates. With the extension of our territorial waters, with the extension of our national airspace, which now coincides with our territorial waters in the area of the Ionian Sea. With the policy of broad horizons that serves the interest of the new Greece celebrating its bicentennial. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
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