Leaders of Greece, Cyprus & Egypt call out Turkish provocations in trilateral press conference (video)

PM Mitsotakis blasted the Turkish stance in the region

The joint statements of Greek PM Mitsotakis, Cypriot President Anastasiades, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ended in Cyprus, after the completion of the Greece-Cyprus- Egypt Tripartite Summit. As Nicos Anastasiades pointed out, they agreed that efforts should be made to strengthen the EU-Egypt relationship. Egypt, he said, is a stabilizing factor in the region.

The Cyprus issue was part of the agenda in the meeting, with Anastasiades announcing that he had invited the new leader of the Turkish Cypriots to a first informal meeting, while he also addressed a letter to the secretary-general of the UN, in which it declares its readiness to respond to initiatives. A necessary condition to move forward, he added, was the creation of a favourable climate through the de-escalation of provocative actions on the part of Turkey.

PM Mitsotakis said the meeting was an example of collaboration in the region. He added that Turkey was fantasising about “Imperial” expansion with its actions, accompanying its plans with extreme provocation which blatantly violated international law.

The Greek PM said Turkey was a factor of destabilisation in the region, stressing that its military interference from Syria to Libya was and NATO, while he reiterated his call on the EU to avoid procuring arms to Turkey, saying “those who demand peace cannot be providing bullets to Turkey”.

At the beginning of the meeting with the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in the framework of the 8th Tripartite Summit of Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, in Nicosia, Mitsotakis characterised as very important the signing of the agreement on the partial demarcation of two countries for which both leaders worked. He described it as an important first step in further deepening relations between the two countries. He noted that the agreement was ratified by the parliaments of both countries and the formal protocol from the UN is expected.