In his interview on SKAI Radio on Friday, 11 October, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis maintained that Turkey’s provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean and its military operation in Syria are not directly linked, as the latter does not concern a bilateral issue, but Turkey’s general position in the international environment.
He also characterized Turkey’s stance on Cyprus as extremely problematic on all levels and in particular with regard to its relations with the EU, as it is an affront to an EU member state with absolute sovereign rights. Moreover, he expressed the view that this provocative conduct will come into conflict with economic interests.
Responding to a question on the non-imposition of sanctions on Turkey, Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed that the EU made a relevant decision in July and that the issue is to be discussed by the competent EU bodies next week. Furthermore, Mr. Varvitsiotis argued that Turkey’s policy is out of sync with the contemporary international environment and will not necessarily generate diplomatic capital, as it remains to be seen whether this military operation will bring the political gains Turkey is pursuing.
On the migration issue, Mr. Varvitsiotis made it clear that Greece is currently facing a migration rather than a refugee issue, as the vast majority of the people crossing into Greece illegally are economic migrants. As one of the reasons behind the recent increase in migrant flows, he pointed to the crackdown on illegal migrants that is taking place in Istanbul, and he underscored that the Greek authorities have stepped up their identity checks.
Finally, the Alternate Minister said there is a real danger of a resurgence of the Islamic State in the territories Turkey invaded, highlighting that the crisis in Syria will more likely result in the recruitment of new fighters by the jihadists in that region rather than in the arrival of jihadists on the Greek islands.
October 11, 2019