Greece is ready to enter into a dialogue with Turkey “at any time, under the self-evident condition that on the other side there will be no challenges that undermine it”, underlines the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias, in an interview with the “Free Press of Kyriaki” ».

“Statements and maps that we have seen circulating in the last few days in our neighboring country, obviously also for the needs of the pre-election campaign, do not work constructively, nor do they contribute to maintaining the good climate that has been formed in our bilateral relations in recent months”, he emphasizes .

“Greece’s position is clear: With Turkey we have a difference regarding the delimitation of the continental shelf and EEZ”, he says and adds: “We want this difference to be resolved in a peaceful way, through an honest and constructive dialogue, which will be held on the basis of International Law and the International Law of the Sea. It is also in the interest of the neighboring country.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs notes that “in the next period the “pre-election temptations” will not allow the disturbance of this positive climate which could be a good starting point for a meaningful and honest dialogue after the elections in the two countries” and emphasizes: “No, of course , that means we are naive”.

“We are fully aware of the difficulties in Greek-Turkish relations, just as we are fully aware that Turkey currently does not appear to have moved away from its permanent positions,” he points out.

The foreign minister states that the practical support of our country to the Turkish people after the earthquakes “could not fail to have an impact on the relations between us”.

“The images from the efforts of the Greek rescuers disproved the narrative of the hostile neighbor and created a strong social and political basis for positive diplomacy. Therefore, I consider that the scenario of the hot episode or the accident has been removed as it has too many conditions, which at the moment are not met.”

Of course, he adds, “the ups and downs in Turkish rhetoric, we record them, as we always do, we note them, we contain them” and he notes that after the elections “there are ways to reduce the tension, to work on issues of common interest, to proceed to find common ground to resolve the only bilateral dispute we have with Turkey, namely the delimitation of the EEZ and the continental shelf in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, on the basis of UNCLOS and the principles of International Law – and all this to be done without throwing threats to each other.”

“We are not naive or ethereal,” he points out. “The purpose of a responsible foreign policy is to prevent hot episodes and the obligation of an effective national defense to manage them.”

“In the last four years, we have drawn up an overall strategic plan that can respond to any aggressive action on the part of Turkey. We are taking our measures and I think we will go safely and smoothly to our own elections as well.”

Referring to his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he points out that he took over “at a critical – and therefore, interesting – period, both internationally and regionally”.

“Exercising my duties throughout the government’s term allowed the development and implementation of a coherent plan with a broad geographical horizon and with the aim of continuously expanding and deepening our alliances and partnerships and effectively addressing the challenges.”

Referring to the disengagement operation from Sudan, he points out that it was a complex exercise on many levels: “Consultations and consultations with my counterparts, our diplomatic authorities in the region, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, foreign embassies, planning for the dispatch of the two transports of aircraft in southern Egypt, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Defence.

“Greece has significant experience in handling such situations from similar cases of release that we successfully carried out in the past. This, together with the excellent relations we have with countries in the region, contributed to the successful conclusion of this business as well”, he pointed out.

The citizens will not discard the achievement of stability and normality

Referring to the elections, Mr. Dendias expresses the opinion that “the citizens do not wish for the country to return to conditions of instability and will give a vote of confidence in the actions of the New Democracy government, which managed to successfully manage a series of external crises”.

“The comparison of the deeds of the current government with the government term of SYRIZA will play an important role. After the ten-year crisis that Greece faced, with the well-known consequences, I am sure that the citizens will not abandon the achievement of stability and normality”.

He points out that the government took drastic measures when needed to support vulnerable social groups and added that the new New Democracy administration “will place special emphasis on the issue of dealing with the accuracy of basic consumer goods, as a result of yet another exogenous crisis. And in this case, the comparison with the accomplished SYRIZA is a catalyst. Let’s remember which government gave funds the right to “threat” in the loan sector and what happened to the super fund”.

Asked about the possibility of the formation of a government of losers, he notes that “even if there are numerical correlations from the result of the ballot box that would allow it to be formed, it will not have any perspective in reality”.

Regarding the amendment for the bloc in the Kasidiaris party, Mr. Dendias states that “the specific issue is primarily political and then legal”.

“If the organized State has decided that it does not tolerate the existence of neo-Nazi formations, which constitute a threat to the democratic state and the Rule of Law in our country, everything else follows.”

“I therefore estimate that, regardless of legal technical discussions, it would have been extremely useful if all the opposition parties had voted in favor of the government’s proposal, sending a strong message of unity on the specific issue, even with the parallel formulation of criticism”, he concludes.