The main objective of the Greek side is to make progress on the issue of signing a co-signatory, so that the two countries can appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to resolve their differences on the issue of delimitation of maritime zones
By Penelope Galliou
At a time when Turkey is cutting off every channel of communication and discussion with Greece with its actions and provocations, Athens is sending a message of stability and cooperation with its northern neighbors, placing particular emphasis on Greek-Albanian relations, after the recent trip of of the Prime Minister in Tirana and his contacts with the country’s leadership.
Today’s visit also signals this climate Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias in the Albanian capital, where he will have contacts with his counterpart and joint statements to the press will follow, while afterwards the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will host a lunch in honor of the Greek Minister.
The discussions between Nikos Dendias and his Albanian counterpart, Olta Tsaka, are expected to focus on the course of bilateral relations in a wide range of fields, as well as on current international and regional developments.
The main objective of the Greek side is to make progress on the issue of signing a co-signatory, so that the two countries can appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to resolve their differences on the issue of the delimitation of the maritime zones of Greece and Albania. The relevant preliminary work was even done during the recent visit of the prime minister Kyriakou Mitsotakis in Albania for the European Union – Western Balkans Summit which took place at the beginning of December in Tirana. “I believe that we are approaching the time when we will sign the relevant co-promissory note to refer the matter to the international court in The Hague”, the prime minister emphasized at the time, noting that “Greece has proven that it can resolve such outstanding issues in accordance with international law” and as he said this is what we will seek to do in this case as well.
The aim of the Greek side is for the joint undertaking to be signed by both sides as soon as possible, even within the first half of 2023. A major reason why Athens wants to close this pending issue as soon as possible is the revisionist and provocative policy of Turkey, which there are fears will intensify in the next period and as it heads towards the Turkish elections in 2023. In addition, the resolution of the issue of the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone between Athens and Tirana is estimated to act as a pressure on its “games” as well Ankara with Tripoli, with the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum they signed, as it will automatically make them the only countries in the region that violate and refuse to implement the provisions derived from International Law.
Government sources remind and underline the fact that “Greece has already signed maritime zone demarcation agreements with Italy and Egypt, applying International Law in practice.”
Unless unforeseen, Thursday will be followed by a visit by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to areas of Northern Epirus, where the Greek minority lives. Essentially, this is the trip that was planned at the beginning of December, when Mr. Mitsotakis was already in Tirana for the European Union – Western Balkans Summit, and it was postponed due to bad weather conditions.

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have been an author at News Bulletin 247 for the past 2 years. I mostly cover politics news. I am a highly experienced and respected journalist. I have won numerous awards for my work.
