Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, while briefing political editors on the issue of the Sinai Monastery, said the Greek government has the relevant court decision.

“There has been a terrible rush from the entire opposition. The decision accepts the appeal of the monastery regarding the legal possession of all places of worship and the perpetual right of worship. However, it does not mention the monastery’s ownership of the places of worship. It also states that the Monastery has no ownership of surrounding non-worship spaces. What was prematurely circulated aboutthe  eviction of monks and confiscation is not valid,” he said.

He added: “There is a clear will of our country to abide by what has been agreed, this will be conveyed by the Greek foreign minister with the other members of the Greek delegation on Wednesday. Greece supports the centuries-old and established status of the monastery and will seek to agree with the Egyptian side based on what was discussed and announced at the High Cooperation Council of the two countries. We will give our whole self, our whole being, because this is an issue that is directly linked to our faith, to the values of Orthodoxy, and echoes the views of Greek citizens around the world. There is also the deeply problematic opposition dimension. They spoke of a strategic diplomatic failure of the government. Unfortunately, they did not wise up from the sticks and cover-ups over a tragic accident and said to export the smuggling of lies and on issues that go as far as the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine of Sinai.”

Regarding a report about trading the monastery for cheap electricity, Mr. Marinakis said that he could make a joke and say that we paid for it in xylolium but because we are talking about very serious issues, “because the xylolium was a vulgar narrative of the opposition on a tragic accident and the issue of the Sinai Monastery is a sacred issue, I will tell you that at some point nonsense must have some limits”.

He pointed out that an institutional permanent solution is a long-standing demand and that no other prime minister in the past has addressed it. “All those who speak from the opposition have no idea what they are talking about, they don’t know where the monastery falls. For over a year now, the Prime Minister has personally addressed the issue very seriously, and we are optimistic that we will get the deal we need.”

Asked what changed and upgraded the representation of the country on Wednesday and what are the red lines, he replied that these are what was agreed in the ASA that there should be no issue with the character of the monastery and what is in place about its established status and the character of its operation and all places of worship. “We do not indicate to the contrary. The announcements of the Egyptian side on Thursday also show its disposition. It was finally agreed to have a comprehensive visit on Wednesday,” he added.