“Greece is constantly sending Turkey the message that its arbitrariness will not be accepted and that, with the support of the European Union and the International Community, we will fully defend our sovereign rights with regard to borders, continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Greece and the European Union,” the President of the Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, said on Sunday from Kozani, while also stressing the need for unity.

Addressing the EU, US, and NATO, Pavlopoulos said: “Greece’s international alliances in our region are already bearing fruit.”

He added that “if Greece alone needs to fulfill its role as a guarantor of European and international legality, it will do so.”

Regarding the European Union, Pavlopoulos said that it must be aware that Greece’s struggle also concerns its own vital issues, in particular with regard to its territory, borders and its Exclusive Economic Zone and is obliged to defend them.”

He also called upon the US and the NATO to act when Turkey violates International Law, with the most recent example the Law of the Sea.

Pavlopoulos stressed the need for unity among the Greeks in order to effectively address provocations and dangers, particularly to defend national issues and national rights, and more specifically those concerning relations with Turkey.

“Greece has shown that it is so consistent with its European obligations that even its national issues, particularly those concerning its relations with Turkey, are defended solely on the basis of the European and of international law, and in this context it also favours Turkey’s European perspective, provided that it fully respects international and European law, but unfortunately Turkey is undermining every aspect of its European perspective by strongly and clearly violating international and European law.

source athens news agency