"As long as Turkey maintains the Aegean landing force operational and challenges our national sovereignty on a daily basis, it is our duty to defend our islands and borders”, underlined today Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, in an interview with SKAI TV station and journalists Dimitris Oikonomou and Maria Anastassopoulou.
In particular, Mr. Varvitsiotis - who announced that he will visit Kastellorizo next Saturday in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe - noted that this is Greece's response to Turkey's accusations regarding the militarization of the eastern Aegean islands, emphasizing that nothing to the detriment of Greece has been heard in any international forum, as everyone realizes that the Turkish threat against Greece is active.
The Alternate Minister pointed out that the government is responding to this threat on the one hand by undertaking an effort in foreign policy to build a global alliance along the line of respect for International Law, the Law of the Sea and sovereign rights, and on the other hand by shielding our national borders, which are also borders of Europe. He added that the procurement of the Rafale fighters is an unprecedented step in strengthening our air defense that shifts the balance in the air.
Regarding the Turkish allegations against Greece on the migration issue, Mr. Varvitsiotis spoke of "self-appointed defenders of this Turkish propaganda in Greece" and underlined that since 2019 the government has reduced migration flows by 90%, reduced the number of refugees and migrants living on the islands from 30,000 to 3,000, has built modern accommodation facilities and developed a modern legal framework on asylum.
February 7, 2022