Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made statements in the early hours of Friday (July 12, 2024) following the NATO Summit, addressing among other things North Macedonia, Cyprus, and aid to Ukraine.
Regarding North Macedonia’s disregard for the Prespa Agreement, Athens’ response:
“I had the opportunity to inform my colleagues that the Prime Minister of North Macedonia has chosen not to use the constitutional name in all circumstances and to refer to his country within the borders as the Republic of Macedonia. This tactic was not followed within the NATO chambers and they followed the constitutional name. I believe they will understand that this tactic is counterproductive. Agreements must be respected if we want their European perspective, but compliance with agreements is a prerequisite.”
“I believe that the leadership in Skopje will understand this. Greece will not disclose the tools it has at its disposal to respond to any persistence by Skopje in this tactic.”
Regarding the meeting with Erdogan and the Cyprus issue:
“The Greek government has expressed satisfaction that there is a UN initiative and the envoy gave her report to Guterres, whose details we do not know. We support the resumption of talks based on the decisions of the UN Security Council of 20/7. I will be in Cyprus on June 20 at the invitation of President Christodoulides, and tomorrow I will discuss with the UN Secretary-General how he can engage in an effort to finally close this wound 50 years after the invasion and to stop being the last divided island within European territory.”
On aid to Ukraine:
“Greece has surplus material to support Ukraine… It is material that can expire soon and we would also pay money to destroy this material. Also, let’s evaluate the capabilities of the Armed Forces and compare them to those of 2019… It is a European initiative. Europe must do more for its own defense capability. Greece is giving F-16s but we want to give Ukraine the opportunity to defend itself. I imagine you saw the attack on the children’s hospital. Peace cannot be achieved by compromising Ukraine. NATO is united in this effort for Ukraine.”
“Greece will not provide Patriot and S-300 to Ukraine,” reiterated the Prime Minister.
Regarding the meeting with President Biden and the US Secretary of State, he said, “We discussed common challenges and issues in the Balkans region.”
