“We should stop thinking that the dialogue is a pretext”, underlined the Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis at the conference, organized by the Delphi Economic Forum, the Council of International Relations and “To Vima”, with the theme “Transformation 1974-2024: 50 years of Greek foreign policy”.

“Dialogue is the means of the solution. It is the opportunity to take the big step forward”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who participated in a panel together with Evangelos Venizelos, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the period 2013-2015 and Nikos Kotzias, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the period 2015-2018 .

“No problem can be solved without a productive deliberative discussion based on fundamental principles,” he noted.

“Greece has acquired a very strong diplomatic footprint, which allows it not only to have a regional role, but a purely international role, to be able to have a say and enforce the principles of international law,” the minister said characteristically Foreign.

As he emphasized, the dialogue “does not only concern a technical discussion, as was the case with the exploratory ones, but is a genuine political dialogue”.

“Dialogue does not by definition mean that there will be concessions”, he pointed out characteristically and added: “We will be able to build good neighborly relations if we have the good opportunity to move forward together”.

He emphasized that there cannot be a fearful framework for Greek-Turkish relations.

He pointed out that the country has very strong allies who appreciate the principled stance it maintains and stressed that “as a country we cannot be transactional, but loyal to our principles”.

“International law is what we set as the frontline of Greek foreign policy,” he noted

“We don’t have a dogmatic immobility that we think will somehow magically put us in a better position.”

As he pointed out, with the improvement of Greek-Turkish relations, we have succeeded and the discussion on the solution of the Cyprus issue has been restarted.

He also stated that “we are fighting the networks of traffickers, due to the improvement of Greek-Turkish relations. The Greek citizen wants security from his foreign policy. He wants peace and prosperity in our neighborhood. Let’s listen to the world.”

“The logic of the strong and the weak is precisely the political psychology that has brought us to this point. Greece is not the weak one and it is not the weak one today”, he noted and added: “Foreign policy is like the stock. You sell when you’re high.”

With regard to the new crisis in the Middle East, from which the role of Turkey is strengthened and whether this fact will affect the Greek-Turkish dialogue, Mr. Gerapetritis said: “It is good that knowledge and wisdom do not reach the point of nihilism. The Middle East obviously affects our own geostrategic position. It also affects the Cyprus issue, as well as Greek-Turkish relations”

–Uh. Venizelos: 50 years is a success story for the country as a whole

The 50 years of postcolonialism are a success story for the country as a whole, emphasized Evangelos Venizelos.

“For many parameters of national power, starting from the operation of the institutions of the Republic, moving on to the survival of the economy during the economic crisis and reaching the issues of security and defense in foreign policy”, he pointed out.

“In a period of crisis, the system of political representatives assumed responsibilities that had a great political cost, in confrontation with the municipality, with the square, with public opinion,” noted the former foreign minister.

“This must and can be done at some critical moments, but we must have created the conditions, so that the judgment of history does not contradict the decisions of the Republic.”

“Foreign policy is par excellence a policy that cannot be contemporary, but historical. But to exercise foreign policy you need a democratic mandate, which is momentary. And this is the problem we have,” said Mr. Venizelos.

As he emphasized, “we are not careless in terms of time. And the parameter of consciousness of history and consensus is very important.”

“Historical time has thickened and therefore we must move with immediate more demanding roles.”

For the Cyprus issue, Mr. Venizelos said: “Our strategy depends on the answer to the question of whether we can work out a scheme within the UN resolutions, within international law and within the European acquis which can be accepted by the other side and be accepted in a referendum.”

Mr. Venzelos also pointed out that in Greece the list of foreign policy issues has two issues: Greek-Turkish and the Cyprus issue. On the contrary, Turkey has too many.

And for her, as she added, “it is not the most critical issue of security, while for us it is the only issue of security. We have a priority of our own that is neither NATO nor Western. Here is our strategic solitude.”

He also emphasized that for Greece he prefers a Turkey within western borders

–N. Kotzias: When relations with Turkey freeze, its aggression increases

For his part, Nikos Kotzias noted that we are living in a period of major crises:

“We have the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Russia’s unjust intervention. We have the destabilization of Bosnia from where crisis phenomena can slide towards the South. We have in the Middle East the conflict that seems to be expanding and changing the correlations.

“Turkey appears to have strengthened geopolitically,” he noted. “But my experience tells me that he has also strengthened diplomatically. When relations with Turkey freeze, its aggression increases.”

“When relations with Turkey freeze, its aggression increases. It is not right that every dialogue raises appetites,” he said.

Especially for the Cyprus issue, Mr. Kotzias underlined that: “‘Another solution and another regulation of legalizing a relationship. In the Cyprus issue, we were often in danger of considering as a solution some arrangements that legitimized what had already been done.

He noted that “many of the opportunities for solving the Cyprus issue were rejected by the Turks, we don’t need to take them upon ourselves. Under the theory of lost opportunities, two basic fundamental things are lost. That Cyprus has gained significantly, such as EU membership and agreements on the EEZ”

“No one makes foreign policy without caring about the cost.” noted.

While he pointed out: “No one said that in Syria we should go and get involved. But the government always asks us not to criticize. A government that even accused its opponents of treason. In a parliament where they told me that they would cut off my head for the Prespa agreement and throw my headless body into the lake.”