“The issues of the Prime Minister’s statement regarding the concessions do not concern issues of sovereignty,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis, from the floor of the Parliament, answering a topical question of the deputy of the KO of the “SPARTATES” party, Io. Kontis, on the subject of “Unallowable concessions to Turkey”.

Asked to answer which are the “concessions” that Mr. Mitsotakis referred to in a television station, after his meeting with the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Mr. Gerapetritis noted that “sovereignty is absolute, unitary and irrevocable, and therefore, based on International Law, it is not amenable to any concession- shrinkage”.

What the Prime Minister mentioned, said Mr. Gerapetritis, “is that in a discussion, which will be opened with the neighbor, and which obviously cannot concern sovereignty issues, there is a possibility that there may be some deviations from our initial relationship, but this deviation, in any case, cannot be detrimental to our national issues nor can it concern sovereignty issues. So, the logic is that in a discussion there may be some deviations from our starting line. We all understand that a discussion involves exactly this: The element of discussion, so that at some point there can be a common movement, a coupling. This, moreover, could also happen in the international court if the dispute were ever brought before it. In any case, it is not possible to make any concession in relation to issues of sovereignty”.

He reminded, in fact, that “it was the present government, under its previous term, which extended our territorial waters to 12 miles and up to Cape Tainaro, increasing the sovereignty and expanding the borders of the Greek territory”.

Elaborating on his question, Mr. Kontis asked to know what was announced at the Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting, what are the concessions announced by the Prime Minister, when will we be able to demarcate the Greek EEZ with the Republic of Cyprus and when will Greek territorial waters be extended to 12 nautical miles in the Aegean.

Mr. Gerapetritis emphasized that the discussion that took place in Vilnius between the Greek and Turkish delegations was a discussion aimed at re-starting the discussions regarding the Greek-Turkish issues.

As he pointed out, it was a discussion that took place in a constructive atmosphere, a discussion that tends to create a regime of trust and honest relationship. Essentially, it will lead to a better relationship of friendship and good neighborliness. In any case, the minister continued, the road map we are launching and which concerns the political dialogue between the ministers, the confidence-building measures between the military, those responsible for this, as well as the positive agenda with confidence-building measures for further relations, mainly economic and commercial, depends in any case on the attitude that the neighbors will take.

“It is obvious that under a regime of threats or any other hostile or intolerant attitude, it is impossible to have any kind of agreement,” the foreign minister underlined.

He said that, we look forward to building a good climate as was established after the February earthquake. “There is one big dispute of ours, which can be brought before international jurisdiction, and that is the dispute over the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. To do this, it is obvious that Greece always and firmly supports International Law and bases its foreign policy on International Law. We are not going to make any concession whatsoever in relation to what International Law grants to our country”, repeated Mr Gerapetritis.

As for the extension of territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, he noted that this is an inalienable right that Greece has under International Law.

Finally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that for what was further conveyed in the discussion between the Greek and Turkish delegations, “I have already asked the parties to inform their representatives and this will be done, if you agree, next Friday, so that you will have a complete knowledge of where, even at an early stage, the discussion about the Greek-Turkish [..] Greece has nothing to fear, it is strengthening its defense power, strengthening its diplomatic position, it has foundations in International Law and based on this policy we will proceed”.