Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis expressed the hope that there will be concrete results in the formulation of a positive agenda for Greek-Turkish relations. The minister estimated that this progress can be achieved by December 7, when the Greece-Turkey Supreme Council will be held in Thessaloniki.

Mr. Gerapetritis made a more comprehensive assessment of the contacts that the Greek diplomatic mission had so far during its High Level Week of the UN General Assembly. As he explained, “the presence of the Greek delegation at the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations, a diverse presence, which first and foremost wants to promote the Greek candidacy for participation, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2025-26. In this context, we had a series of meetings, multilateral, regional and bilateral, precisely to promote Greek positions and the Greek candidacy”.

The Foreign Minister made a special reference to the meeting held between him Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Of course, as you know, we also had a meeting with the Turkish delegation at the highest possible level. The leaders of the two countries had the opportunity to discuss, to establish the road map for the next steps, to develop the discussion, which takes place at the level of political dialogue, at the level of the positive agenda and Confidence Building Measures. With a horizon of December 7, where we will have the Supreme Council in Thessaloniki, where we hope to have positive results, specific deliverables for the development of bilateral relations, for the prosperity of the region and for the development of wider cooperation”, he noted.

Mr. Gerapetritis placed particular emphasis on the multilateral schemes of regional cooperation, through which Greece expands its diplomatic footprint from the Balkans to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

“A series of very important meetings also at the regional level, such as the Western Balkans, where we had the opportunity to participate in the quadripartite meeting with Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. As well as at the meeting for the countries of South-Eastern Europe. Greece always remains a pioneer in the activation of all possible mechanisms for the accession of the countries of the Western Balkans to the EU. An accession process which should proceed for the good and well-being of both the region and Europe and the peoples of the countries of the Southeast of Europe”, pointed out Mr Gerapetritis.

The head of Greek diplomacy also referred to the meetings he had with a series of high-ranking officials of international forums and organizations, such as the Secretary General of the UN, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the President of of the United Nations General Assembly.

Finally, Mr. Gerapetritis highlighted the multilateralism of the Greek foreign policy, saying that the mission of our country held bilateral meetings with more than 20 countries, which come from both Europe and Africa, Asia, and America.

Given the geographical distance that separates Greece from these countries and the fact that our country has applied for the position of non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the General Assembly offers a first-class opportunity for such contacts .

As Mr. Gerapetritis underlined, “the multilateralism of foreign policy requires that these meetings be held, so that bilateral relations develop, but also very strong diplomatic alliances and foundations are created to support national interests”.

Emigration is the biggest driver of soft power for Greece

“The Greek diaspora, the Greek Diaspora, is the country’s biggest lever of soft power. We want to be close to the Greek diaspora, we want to utilize the Greek diaspora and bring it close to the metropolis, at a level of permanent cooperation. And for this reason, we are developing all those tools with which the Greek expatriates will feel that they are close to the homeland. I had the opportunity to personally have a meeting, last Monday, with all the expatriate organizations in the USA. There I had the opportunity to address the Greek and Cypriot diaspora as well, so that we could strengthen these ties. The prime minister also had the opportunity to meet the Greek diaspora. It is extremely important not only to maintain and strengthen the ties with our expatriates, but on the other hand, to make our expatriates feel that the homeland is always by their side” underlined Mr. Gerapetritis.