“Today more than ever, Greece must re -acquire a strategic compass, especially in relation to its immediate area. On the basis of a contested foreign policy that does not expect answers from Washington, Brussels, Berlin or other capitals, but from its own strengths and on the basis of its own national and European vision. “.

Former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a speech at the Awards Ceremony of the Peace and Cooperation of the Balkan peoples organized by the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Eastern Studies of the University of Macedonia (PAMAK).

“Greece does not have the luxury of procrastination in relations with Turkey”

Referring to the Greek -Turkish, he said that “a conclusion can be made mainly from the rapid deterioration of the international framework and the shift from international law to the law of the powerful, promoted by the new US president, it is with confidence that Greece and Greece in general, no Hellenism has the luxury of procrastination “and continued:

“We have seen the failure of the attempt to appeal to the Hague for EEZ/Shelf delimitation promoted without plan and strategy. If we do not acquire a strategy of commitment and pressure on Turkey in a Greek -Turkish and Euro -Turkish dialogue framework for Hague – if we continue without a compass in Greek -Turkish – our neighboring country will use the recession in relations with us for its benefit. And it will come back to tension, having secured the equipment and alliances it wants. “

In particular on the issue with the French “Meteor” missiles, Mr Tsipras said that “unfortunately my criticism that the Greek -French agreement is incomplete” was confirmed “.

“Unfortunately we did not see the potential of the Prespa Agreement”

On the Prespa Agreement he stressed the following:

  • “This new era is very different even from the one in which the Prespa Agreement was contributed, but this makes it even more important to move on with our values ​​and not to leave them. In the face of the nationalism and the intolerance they reap, to move on with the values ​​of peace, cooperation and the protection of our national interests that had guided us then.
  • If there was no Prespa Agreement today, instead of pressing Northern Macedonia to implement the agreement – the pressures were put on us to get our neighbors in NATO in a hurry, under the name of Macedonia and to begin as their accession course.
  • Instead of discussing the ratification of three memorandums, we should have had dozens of agreements and many Supreme Cooperation Boards that would have allowed us to have another role and other leverage in the country, especially today, against a government that violates the agreement.
  • Unfortunately, however, we did not see the potential of the Prespa Agreement. After the period of harsh patriotism, which we all realized that it had only a voting motivation, we witnessed a dead -end phobic.
  • Unfortunately on this issue (Macedonian), there was no strategic thought for the future nor a hierarchy of the national in the party. “

‘To be at the forefront of the logic of border challenge’

Concerning Greek -American relations, he emphasized that “first and foremost, we must be at the forefront of the logic of challenging borders and interventions in the internal third countries promoted by the new US president” and added: “To give the message that Greek -American relations can They are developed only on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit.

On the occasion of the new international context after Trump’s election, Mr Tsipras observed:

“We have been living in the era of the rapid collapse of the entire international context as we have known it since 1945 and especially from 1990. So let’s be aware that today we are not as simple as it looked a few years ago. Because we emphasize the issues of peace, peaceful resolution of disputes and international cooperation, at a time when all these concepts are not self -evident but are intensely disputed. We live in a multipolar world of multiple crises and enormous inequalities, where authoritarian regimes multiply and become more powerful. And in this world, the new US president tells us in every way that it is not in the US to enter new, more participatory rules – as it was in 1945 or 1990 – nor to enhance international law. And that what interests the US is to dominate the law of the powerful. And how is it even willing to violate the border of other countries, even to get involved in their domestic and elections, undermining elected governments and supporting far -right parties. And all this, with the official billionaires’ strongest business interests on his side, who control the information networks and decide less and less controls to tackle fake news on social media. This is the image of the planet today.“

The responsibilities of the EU leadership

At this point he referred to the responsibilities of the European leadership, saying: “Let them not be so surprised about where we are today the European leaders.

They support wars but do not want refugees. They want foreign workers, but they don’t want them to have rights. They want the green agenda, but with the weights all the citizens fall, Europe in which they have seen their wealth in recent years have tens of dozens of multicults from trade with Russia in war, from the pandemic, or from the energy crisis, Let’s not be so surprised with inequalities in the US. Nor from the role that the billionaires acquire there. Not even with the questioning of the green agenda. Such a future may unfortunately not be far away for us. “

As for EU-US relationships he underlined:

“As mistaken it is to close our eyes to the hypocrisy of Europe for the 30 years that have passed, so is it wrong to accept the pseudo -pseudonym in which the new US president is getting more and more.

That is, we have to choose between yesterday’s hypocrisy and the cynicism he proposes for the future.

The international context of recent decades may have been based on contradictions, weaknesses and obviously on American power, but international law and liberal democracy remained the reference points and allowed citizens to push their governments.

Today, we have to fight for a more fair and participatory framework for international relations and not accept the law of the powerful, as a reference point for the 21st century. We need an international multilateral diplomacy system for a multipolar world, where we will accept that the West is strong, but not dominant.

Europe’s response must be clear: we are returning to our principles, learning from the mistakes of the last 30 years.

It is not enough for the EU to talk about strategic autonomy from the US and upgrading its defense industry, unless it is clear what the international role it claims is.

It must stop leaving the initiative of movements exclusively in the US and to play an active role in resolving the Ukrainian and the Middle East.

In the Middle East where we see how dangerous the positions that President Trump put on the table, the EU must, in collaboration with Arab countries, but also in contact with Iran, to put the discussion on the basis of a fair and sustainable solution, such as The UN decisions set.

The European leadership would consider whether it was worth it, the insistence on US policy that left Ukraine’s integration in NATO in NATO, which was exploited by the Russian president to illegally invade the country.

But, of course, for the impact of war first of all on the Ukrainian people, but also on the European economy.

Whatever the case today, he has to chart a new strategy for peace so that he will not be worse again.

In general, we must consider that if the US is seeking to shift their attention to the Indian and the Pacific, a huge gap is created in our wider region, which the EU must fill by acquiring an active role in promoting peace, international law, peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for agreements. “

The awards were given by Mr Tsipras, they are part of the donation made by the former prime minister who provided for this purpose the amounts he had received from European bodies when he was awarded the Prespa Agreement to the following students:

  • Thanassis Skoufia (Department of Balkan, Slavic and Eastern Studies, PAMAK) for his thesis on: “The crisis in Kosovo and the local press. The case of Veria. “
  • Stefania Costa (Department of Political Science and History, Panteion University), for her thesis: “The cracks of national identities: the formation of Greek -Albanianism in Greece today”.
  • Eleni Bitsiadou (Department of Political Sciences, AUTH), for her thesis: “Europeanization of Higher Education through the mobility of students under the Erasmus program. The case of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. “

The departments that, by their own procedures, decide to award the prize to their students and students are the following:

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Political Sciences

University of Crete, Department of Political Science

University of Western Macedonia, Department of International and European Economics

University of Macedonia, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Eastern Studies

University of Piraeus, Department of International and European Studies

Panteion University, Department of Political Science and History

At the ceremony held at the PAMAK Ceremony Amphitheater, the Presidents of the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Eastern Studies Dimitrios Kirkilis and the Department of Political Science Ioannis Papageorgiou addressed the ceremony.

The reason was also the award -winning who thanked Mr Tsipras for his initiative and with emotion referred to the experiences they gained by accomplishing their work.

Prior to the start of the ceremony, former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a meeting with the Rector of the University of Macedonia Stelios Katranidis.

The ceremony was attended by New Left MP Ferhat Ozgur, former SYRIZA-PS Deputy Minister Yiannis Amanatidis, Thessaloniki Mayor Stelios Angeloudis, teachers, members of the teaching staff and students.