PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned that Greece’s moderate attitude to Turkey’s provocations in the wider region should not be misinterpreted. He underlined that illegality does not generate right and added: “We have the means and the will to defend our rights … The entire international community is in favour of Greece and rejects the Turkey-Libya pact. We have strong allies who have condemned it,” the prime minister said. his joint statements with visiting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Athens on Wednesday.
Mitsotakis referred to the close ties between Greece and Serbia and their shared vision for a Europe of security, peace, and prosperity for all the countries in the region at the start of a meeting between the two countries’ delegations on Wednesday.
Welcoming the Serbian head of state at Maximos Mansion, he agreed with Vucic’s statement to the Greek daily “Kathimerini” that Greece and Serbia “must have other’s backs,” and added: “I want you to know that for us, our cooperation with Serbia is a relationship in which we are especially invested. Greece is an ally on the difficult path you have chosen to become a full member of the EU.”
On his part, Vucic noted that Serbia will defend Greece’s territorial integrity and its sovereignty over land and sea. He added that Serbia is ready to accept a number of unaccompanied refugee children and stressed that they will always speak publicly about Greece’s demand for the return of the Parthenon Marbles.
The Greek PM said the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Greece and Serbia was an opportunity to reaffirm the excellent relations between the two nations, while the Serbian president announced a decision for his country to accept a number of unaccompanied refugee children residing in Greece. The Greek prime minister thanked him for his stance, noting that Serbia is not a European Union member-state but a candidate country. He stressed that Greece fully supports and intends to provide know-how to assist its accession.
The Greek PM welcomed the Serbian president’s statement about his country’s readiness to buy natural gas from the pipelines.
The Serbian head of state stressed that his nation fully supported Greece regarding its maritime borders. Moreover, he expressed Serbia’s support for Greece’s efforts for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures.
