In his interview today with Fay Mavragani on OPEN TV, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis talked about the Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe.
Mr. Varvitsiotis emphasised that the Greek Chairmanship will be digital (E-Chairmanship) and accessible to millions of citizens. The Chairmanship, which started yesterday and will last for six months, until November 2020, will focus on human rights, democracy and the rule of law during the Covid-19 pandemic. To a question on the EU’s reaction to the health crisis and the crisis’s impact on the economy and tourism, he responded that what's needed is a collective response that is bold, fast and flexible, pointing to the relevant statement from Christine Lagarde.
Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, he noted that “when Pres. Erdogan tried to communicate with the European leaders, he got the same response from everyone. That the EU will not stand for the exploitation of refugees and migrants.” Regarding Turkey’s ongoing provocations, he underscored that we will not accept any violation of our national, sovereign rights, adding that any militarisation would bilateralise the problem, while keeping it on the diplomatic level internationalises it.
May 16, 2020