In his interview on Parapolitika radio, with journalist Panagiotis Tzenos, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis talked about the exploratory talks with Turkey. Specifically, he stressed that Turkey requested that there be no conditions for the resumption of the exploratory talks. “We set the condition of the withdrawal of Turkey's vessels and de-escalation of tensions. And that’s what happened,” he said.
Regarding EU-Turkey relations, Mr. Varvitsiotis highlighted that Greece is asking for Europe to send a clear message regarding the two paths Turkey can follow: On the one hand, the path of normalisation of Turkish-European relations, good cooperation and avoidance of unilateral actions that destabilise the region, and, on the other hand, the path of distancing itself from Europe and Europe’s strategic goals. “And this means ending its privileged economic relations with Europe,” he said, adding that “one of the reasons Erdogan chose de-escalation was clearly the threat of sanctions from the European Union.”
Asked about the demilitarisation of Greek islands – an issue being raised by Turkey – Mr. Varvitsiotis commented that, given that we have lived under threat for years now, we cannot leave national regions unprotected.
September 24, 2020