German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas said his country was by the side of Greece, sending a clear message to Turkey, during his meeting with his Greek counterpart in Athens on Tuesday, Nikos Dendias.
“The purpose of my visit is the tense situation in the Mediterranean. It creates great worries and concerns for us. I will also talk to Ankara for de-escalation. I have two messages. The first is that Germany and the EU are firmly on the side of Greece. The second is that we need immediate de-escalation and a will for dialogue, but only under the conditions set by international law. It is a game with fire that takes place and a spark is enough for an explosion. This thought is unthinkable, it does not fit into the 21st century. Any provocation should stop in the next period,”, said Mr. Maas.
Nikos Dendias welcomed Mr. Maas to Greece. “We talked about Libya, we welcomed the ceasefire from the first moment. We are ready to contribute in this direction. We are already contributing to peace in this region. We had a discussion in view of the informal conference of foreign ministers.
There we will discuss the behavior of Turkey. Turkey continues to provoke. It insists despite the restraint and prudence shown by the Greek side. We observe the undermining of the stability of the whole region.
However, let me clarify that the obsession with delinquency does not lead to the creation of Law. It goes beyond bilateral disputes, it concerns the whole of the EU. Its sovereign rights and security. Its reliability. Double standards have no place here.
I have expressed to my colleague the confidence of the government that the EU will in every way represent the element that makes our Union the most attractive in the world. We look forward to the presence of a list of sanctions that Borel is obliged to draw up and to present to the informal council.
If the criminal activities continues, it will bring consequences for Turkey. Without bigotry and arrogance, Greece will defend its sovereignty and sovereign rights. National and European borders. We do not have the choice of doing anything else. Under the regime of threats and challenges there is no dialogue”, he added.
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