Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis condemned the logic of Turkey’s strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean in an interview entitled “Turkish provocations:A threat to European security,” in the special insert Spectacle du Monde, by the editor-in-chief, Antoine Colonna, of the French Magazine Valeurs Actuelles.
Spectacle du Monde is a monthly special insert in the magazine Valeurs Actuelles, and each issue focuses on a current issue in international news.
The main topic of today’s 38-page issue is “The Erdogan threat.” In the context of the special feature, the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs sets out in detail Greece’s positions on Greek-Turkish and EU-Turkish relations.
More specifically, Mr. Varvitsiotis stresses that Turkey’s provocations are an ongoing threat to the security of the Europe Union itself, with the result that Greek-Turkish tension are unavoidably an EU-Turkish issue that will be considered at the forthcoming December Summit Meeting. “If Turkey’s intransigence continues, the Union will have to impose political and economic sanctions in order to protect the security of the member states and the stability of the region,” Mr. Varvitsiotis comments, adding that “in any case, the future of the European Union runs through the waters of the Mediterranean.”
In the same context, the Alternate Minister highlights that, for some time now, Turkey has exercised a policy of provocations and violations of international law in the Mediterranean, in the face of which Greece has maintained a determined deterrent stance, proving itself to be a tireless defender of international law and a pillar of stability and security in the region.
He also explains that – in spite of Turkey’s systematically inventing new bilateral disputes and even threatening war – there is but one bilateral dispute between Greece and Turkey: the delimitation of the continental shelf. He adds that, in order to settle the dispute over the continental shelf, Greece is prepared to enter into a dialogue based on a predefined framework, but not unconditionally or under Turkish pressure to distort the framework for the talks.
Regarding territorial waters, Mr. Varvitsiotis made it clear that extension of these waters is Greece’s legal and sovereign right, which the country retains and will exercise when it sees fit.
Asked about the stance of the European partners on Turkey’s provocative behaviour, the Alternate Minister notices that they have shown solidarity, stressing in particular the support of France, which has once again emerged as a guarantor of respect for international law and European values. “French-Greek cooperation is developing fully on the political and strategic levels, and especially with regard to the Dialogue on the Future of Europe. Greece is and will be a partner of France, worthy of our common history and future,” he notes.
Mr. Varvitsiotis comments that perceptions of Turkey have begun to change in Europe due to the country’s revisionist and neo-Ottoman aspirations, which betray its political choice to take the path of marginalising democratic and humanitarian values. Moreover, he stressed, Turkey is using the privilege of the Customs Union without having met its corresponding obligations, while at the same time distancing itself from Europe on issues of protecting human rights and on pivotal policies.
Mr. Varvitsiotis also refers to the exploitation of migrant flows by Turkey, starting last February – a tactic that is one of the neighbouring country’s “hybrid strategies” – with harsh repercussions for humanitarian law. “Our country reacted effectively and proportionately to the orchestrated incidents that took place, which immediately preceded the outbreak of the first wave of the pandemic in Europe and Turkey,” he stresses.
Asked whether Erdogan is exploiting Europe’s Muslims, he states that, on the issue of diversity, we must show respect and tolerance, but also resolve against those who promote divisive trends within our societies. Finally, regarding the terrorist attacks in France and Austria, Mr. Varvitsiotis says that they are part of a strategy for undermining social cohesion, and that they must be responded to proportionately, with solutions that protect our borders and guarantee the safety of our citizens.
November 26, 2020