In an interview with “Alpha” radio’s Lora Ioannou, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis pointed to the gains made by the Greek side at the latest European Council meeting.
More specifically, Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed that the Greek side secured the inclusion in the text of the Council Conclusions of very clear statements reflecting its goals. In particular, he mentioned the potential to activate the sanctions on Turkey in case of unilateral actions or provocations, the ceasing of violations of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus, the creation of a framework for Greek-Turkey disputes so that they concern only the delimitation of maritime zones, and, finally, the first inclusion of the Varosha issue.
In the same context, he underscored that the Council Conclusions sent Ankara a clear message. That Turkey is faced with a choice between two paths: One path is the normalisation of its relations with Europe, which runs through normalisation of its relations with Greece and Cyprus, and the other path is alienation from the European framework, which will lead to serious economic sanctions on Turkey.
Finally, responding to a question on the resumption of the exploratory talks, the Alternate Minister noted that “so far, by not giving a date for the exploratory talks, Turkey is incurring the cost of not carrying them out. The framework is clear, and from now on, Turkey will pay for delays.”
October 5, 2020