of Yiannis Anifantis

His belief that the Turkish side will reassess their conversion Monastery of Chora in a mosque, after the Greek Prime Minister’s visit to Ankara, the Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed George Gerapetritisanswering a topical question in Parliament.

“I estimate that based on this visit there will be a re-evaluation on the part of the Turkish government” underlined the minister, stressing that Athens has taken all the necessary steps:

“The Greek government has taken all the necessary actions to highlight internationally the museum character of the Monastery of Chora, allow me to say how beneficial it was that we were in Ankara. The Prime Minister himself emphatically raised the issue before the Turkish delegation and President Erdoğan and requested that the operation of the Monastery of Chora remain museum-like in its characterization and that it once again become the property of humanity.”

Mr. Gerapetritis pointed out that the Monastery of Chora is a universal cultural asset that must remain as such, recalling that the decision to convert it into a mosque has been taken since 2020 and was implemented for the first time last week.

“The Greek government is not turning a blind eye, we know the difficulties in Greek-Turkish relations but with prudence and responsibility we ensure a calm climate in our relations”, he emphasized, however clarifying that:

“Greek foreign policy is a foreign policy of principles. It is not mutually exclusive, it is a strict, prudent, responsible and wholesome policy”.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, referring to the recent developments with North Macedonia, reiterated that Athens reacted with very quick reflexes, with Greek foreign policy managing to internationalize the issue.

He clarified that the Prespa Agreement, despite its huge problems, is an international law that everyone must respect, while he denied reports about his participation in drafting the agreement, calling them “disgraceful” and “disgraceful”:

“They are simply vulgarities that emanate from an intolerant nationalism. Not only did I have no participation in the drafting, for the simple reason that I fundamentally disagree with the Agreement, which is a legal text with huge problems that are revealed over time.”