Dendias: Turkey promotes a divergent, neo-Ottoman agenda

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“Turkey is moving away from Europe as a set of principles and values”, promoting a “completely different, divergent, neo-Ottoman agenda”, said Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in his speech at the conference on “The Future of Europe” organized by the foundation in Cyprus “Glafkos Clerides”.

“Its accession process, which Greece has bravely supported, has stalled,” he said, adding that there was a significant section of Turkish society that still believed in European values, in the protection of human rights and in women’s rights. .

“In this context of values, I reiterate my absolute conviction that our dispute with Turkey can be resolved,” he said.

“Of course I do not lack realism, I do not see this perspective today. Unfortunately, the opposite is probably the case. “But I insist that the consolidation of principles, such as respect for international law and international law of the sea, is the only avenue, the only road for the states of the Eastern Mediterranean region.”

“With this vision, with this value perception, both Greece and the Republic of Cyprus will continue to move within the EU”, noted the Greek Foreign Minister and characterized the accession of Cyprus to the European structure, as well as the accession of Greece before for decades, “achieving the maximum strategic goal of Hellenism”.

He reminded that “the late Konstantinos Karamanlis, when he submitted the application for the accession of Greece to the then EEC, did not aim only at the integration into a common market, but at the integration into a system of common values”.

“This project is evolving, it has not been completed,” he said, noting, however, that “despite its many problems, it is a unique effort in the history of the human race, perhaps the most ambitious.”

He pointed out that a fundamental element of this effort is the consolidation of a common foreign policy, as well as a common security and defense policy.

“These policies are based on common values, starting with respect for international law, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, the independence of states, the prohibition of the threat or use of force in international relations and, of course, respect for human rights. “, write down.

He added that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, is an integral part of the European acquis, as it has been signed by the EU itself as an entity, along with 167 other members.

“The principles of International Law are advocated by both Greece and Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean and our common goal is to become the property of all states, peoples of the region and to be recorded with reliability, realism and depiction of reality in the common strategy. “compass we are talking about the EU”, noted Mr. Dendias.

“Solving all the problems in the wider region is possible, but in order to achieve this we must all embrace the common values, the common rules,” he stressed.

“No issue, no dispute is out of the question, as long as all parties involved have a common starting point, a common set of rules, a common ground. “After all, in this context, Greece and Cyprus have resolved bilateral issues with their neighbors, such as the delimitation of maritime zones, and at the same time promote multilateral cooperation with other countries that accept this framework of reference.”

I hold Lavrov’s assurance that Russia is not going to invade Ukraine, anything other than confrontation will create a huge mess

Referring to yesterday’s meeting with his Russian counterpart, Mr. Dendias noted: “Returning from Moscow yesterday, I brought with me Sergei Lavrov’s direct statement that Russia is not going to invade Ukraine.”

“I would like to keep the Russian side straight, because anything other than confrontation would create a huge mess. “As Prime Minister Mitsotakis said exceptionally, we will all be lost”, he pointed out and added:

“I can not imagine that in the 21st century a big country like Russia, which should objectively be part of the European security architecture, will react in this way.

I remain convinced that the homogenized front of the allies of NATO countries, but also of many other countries, which stand in terms of international law, territorial integrity, independence of states, will exercise with exactly this unity, which is “Obviously, the persuasion required on the part of the Russian side, if it was thinking of avoiding such a thing.”

Finally, he referred to the diplomatic opening of Greece to Africa and India. As he reminded, he has already visited 5-6 countries of the African continent, while he leaves for Africa again on Tuesday to visit two other countries and in the beginning of March he will visit India, after 2-3 meetings he has already had with the minister. Foreign Affairs of India.

“A new world of challenges is opening before us and Hellenism can not stay away from it and remain limited to a stereotype, which has kept us focused only on the problems of our region in recent years,” he concluded.

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