Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis attributed yesterday’s diplomatic incident in Benghazi to an organizational failure by the European Commission. As he stated on SKAI, there was an inability to maintain diplomatic protocol on the part of the European Commissioner and clarified that “it is not something that was organized by Greece.”
The Greek Foreign Minister assured that efforts will continue for functional cooperation with Libya, something that will become apparent in the coming days. “The continuation will prove the facts,” he said characteristically, while arguing that Greece must discuss with Libya because it is its immediate neighbor. At the same time, he highlighted Libya’s enormous inability to guard its borders and reiterated that the migration issue concerns both Greece and Europe and “is part of European policy.” He also emphasized that “We will not allow Greece to become a reservoir of illegal migration” and that there will be a tightening of the framework. He rejected opposition criticism of poor handling of yesterday’s visit to Benghazi, saying that “the simplicity with which the opposition approaches foreign policy issues is concerning.”
Regarding bilateral issues, Mr. Gerapetritis expressed optimism that there will be a good relationship with Libya, that Greece maintains a balanced stance with both governments, and for this reason will visit Tripoli next week. Specifically regarding the Turkish-Libyan memorandum and the delimitation of maritime zones, he argued that “the exercise of sovereign rights will cancel the Turkish-Libyan memorandum in practice.”
Gerapetritis on Greek-Turkish relations, the right to extend to 12 nautical miles and Greek-American relations
Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, the Foreign Minister argued that the Athens Declaration stands absolutely, while regarding the Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting, he said it is not expected in July due to a heavy schedule.
Concerning the right to extend Greek sovereignty to 12 nautical miles, Mr. Gerapetritis stated that after years, our country submitted the Maritime Spatial Planning map and in a few days will announce Marine Parks, assuring that “Greece will continue to grow.” Responding once again to critics of his policy, he said: “These are said by those who had the opportunity to exercise rights and did not do it.”
Regarding Greek-American relations, he argued that they are excellent and established and that he is in constant communication with his American counterpart.
