Speaking with journalist Panagiotis Tzenos on ‘Parapolitika’ radio, the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis stressed, among other things, that “Greece does not negotiate matters of national sovereignty. We have the power and determination to repel any threat. But we are also willing to keep the channels of communication with Turkey open. And the telephone conversation between the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the Turkish President, Mr. Erdogan, was an important step in this direction.” The alternate Minister added that the sustained tension from Turkey does not help Turkey itself, which is internationally isolated. Regarding the Mitsotakis-Erdogan talks, he highlighted that they discussed issues such as the functioning of the tourism market and protection from the coronavirus.
Regarding the negotiations on the Recovery Fund, he recalled the Prime Minister’s position that the support package cannot be smaller than the sum proposed by the European Commission, because that would mean losing the shield of €750 billion and causing serious turmoil in the eurozone from aggressive moves in the markets, with the risk of increasing interest rates.
June 29, 2020