The outgoing year was marked by a number of developments that render the international state of affairs critical for our country and its place in today’s world. Complicated issues and new challenges require us to realign ourselves and act effectively, abandoning stereotypes and outmoded mindsets.
The new scene taking shape in our wider region is characterized by instability in the Mediterranean and an unprecedented escalation of Turkish provocations. At the same time, in the Balkans, in our immediate neighbourhood, the European perspective established by our own country, in the Thessaloniki Agenda, has been called into question. Our great ‘family’, the European Union, is in the process of seeking new policies to deal with critical issues such as Brexit and management of migration flows, while NATO is experiencing an identity crisis, called upon to redefine its role in a shifting security environment.
There are many challenges, and to face them our country needs a new outlook, a new strategy for our foreign policy. We are formulating this policy in a spirit of unity, based on the national consensus that has been achieved on the main axes of Greek foreign policy. Fully aware of its responsibility, Greece is choosing the path of patriotism, preserving its European and western orientations and acting based on principles and values, defending its interests as well as international legality.
In the new environment of instability taking shape around us, we are responding with self-confidence. We are enriching and expanding our alliances, strengthening our influence, consolidating our role as an anchor of stability and security in our wider region.
The axes of our policy are clear: Greece is re-establishing itself in the core of the EU and redefining its relations with its strategic partners within the European Union, contributing effectively and constructively to shaping the new policies needed to deepen the European project. In this way it is consolidating substantial participation in European actions, allowing it to successfully call on its partners for solidarity on matters of national importance. Moreover, Greece is participating as an equal partner in NATO, while also maintaining strong and equal partnerships with China and Russia. It is also strengthening its relations with all of the actors in our region, including Israel and Egypt, expanding its footprint in the Arab world and consolidating its role in the Balkans.
With regard to the Balkans, a region in which we are called upon to play a prominent role as the oldest member of NATO and the EU and the strongest economy in the region, our policy is clear. We firmly support the accession perspective of the Western Balkan countries and we are deepening our cooperation with all of the countries in the region on the bilateral and multilateral levels. Our solidarity is very real, and we show this in every situation, already having taken a number of initiatives to support their accession bids and to shape a positive agenda for cooperation on the political and economic levels. But we have made it clear that Greece’s support is predicated on our northern neighbours’ full compliance with the European acquis. Greece will not accept any non-compliance on the part of North Macedonia with the Prespa Agreement or anything but Albania’s absolute and complete respect for the right of the Greek National Minority.
Regarding the Cyprus problem, in complete unity with Cyprus we are defending our common interests, always based on the dictates of International Law and in strategic pursuit of a just a viable settlement of the Cyprus problem, without anachronistic guarantee systems or occupation troops. In this context and in collaboration with the Republic of Cyprus, we secured the European Union’s unanimous condemnation of Turkey’s illegal activities in Cypriot territorial waters and in the Cypriot EEZ. In fact, for the first time, this unanimous condemnation was accompanied by a framework of specific sanctions against natural and legal persons involved in Turkey’s illegal drilling.
In the face of Turkish provocations and illegal activities, in the face of our neighbour’s projection of power, Greece is insisting on the need to maintain channels of communication while promoting a policy based on international legality – a policy that does not tolerate unilateral claims and threats or violation of our sovereign rights. We are a European country and we act in accordance with the rules enshrined in International Law and international treaties, and with the dictates of our Constitution. In this context, a diplomatic campaign is under way and has already borne fruit, securing the condemnation of the null and void memorandum signed by Turkey and the government in Tripoli. The support of the international community has been expressed categorically on the highest European level, and a number of important countries, including the U.S., Russia, Egypt and Israel, have taken a stance in favour of Greece’s arguments.
The government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis will continue to meet the challenges of the times in 2020 with resolve, strategic planning and vision. Our country is a border of the West that is endeavouring to have a positive impact on international relations. We support International Law, promote good neighbourly relations and foster dialogue and cooperation. We are pursuing an active role in the developments in our region and we are leading efforts to deal with the major problems of the era. With a sense of patriotic responsibility and national and social consensus. This is our strength, and it is in this direction that we are shaping Greek foreign policy: Towards an open, cooperative, internationally oriented modern outlook on the world around us and our country’s place in it, always sending the message that the Greece of the crisis and introversion is a thing of the past.
January 4, 2020