Athens: There is no meeting with Erdogan in the Mitsotakis program
“There is no such thing in the program of the prime minister”, the Minister of State, George Gerapetritis, said in an interview about the Turkish leaks for the dangerous meeting with the Turkish side, while noting that the Greek side has not requested a meeting.
Mr. Gerapetritis, speaking to “Sky”, stated that “as far as we know, there is no coincidence in the plans of the two leaders, they do not coincide in New York” and when asked if something can be changed, if requested, he gave the present The answer is that “Politics is dynamic, obviously the Greek side is not opposed to having leaders, there are always no channels of communication, it is a useful political path (…) communication distributors are always useful, with one caveat: there should be no common basis of understanding at a minimum “.
And, in the general position, “since we consider that there is a common understanding that we are moving forward on the basis of International Law, which is a general, universal assumption, we will certainly have to meet”, in this case he clarified that “we are currently going through a phase of intense rhetoric aggression, but also aggression on the part of Turkey in general. ” In fact, the Minister of State correlated the Turkish reaction of the day with the comparison of EUMED, saying that “Turkey and President Erdogan are under relative pressure every time an international initiative is undertaken by the Greek side. “The initiative he took for EUMED was indeed a very important action, which is challenging the Euro-Mediterranean area.” Therefore, “President Erdogan was under pressure”, although, Mr. Gerapetritis continued, “he felt this annoyance badly because EUMED was nothing more than the autonomy of the acceptance of respect for sovereignty and sovereign rights and sovereignty on the basis of international law.” .
“There is a return to a logical intensity, both rhetorical and on the ground”
And, acknowledging that on the Turkish side “there is a return to a reasonable tension, both rhetorical and on the ground” he stressed emphatically: “It is something we will reject, as we must hide. We understand the importance of the alliances that are being built in Europe, even if this is considered by Turkey to be an aggressive move on the part of Greece. We take it for granted that the sovereignty, the sovereign rights of Greece will obviously continue to have full application on the basis of International Law “.
To the question, if we are not ready to face additional tension, Mr. Gerapetritis was categorical: “More ready than ever, the Greek side, both in the field and in the field of international diplomacy, has proved that it has the ability to have a lot fast reflexes. In each case, they have seized it, despite obstacles we can scarcely imagine. “
Asked, moreover, whether the investigations by the French research vessel and declared in Kastellorizo will continue, they characterized as “obvious” that “there will be full implementation of the plans that have been set. “Because, in fact, we are talking about the development of Greek plans, which are fully based on international conventions on the law of the sea and on the mutual recognition of the rights of the Mediterranean countries.” At the same time, he gave the double assurance – message, on the one hand “we will remain in the field of international correct speech”, on the other hand “if there is an escalation on the part of Turkey, it is certain that there will be a similar reaction on the part of Greece”.
According to the Minister of State, “the operational upgrade of the Greek Armed Forces was a given – the position of the Prime Minister on the equipment was clear”. After all, he added, the strength of the Armed Forces is “unparalleled, it has developed in recent times.” At the same time, “the images of Evros are very fresh where we actually saw what it means that you are not operationally strong”, in addition “we saw all the European institutions with their leaders gather there, to express their support in Greece”.
He closed his reference to national issues with the phrase, “we are at the best place we have ever been”.
Mandatory at the table is not one of our priorities
On the issue of the pandemic and asked if there would be a third dose for everyone, he referred to the National Vaccination Committee, however “I understand that it will not be universal to be able to take the third dose, it will only be in a group”.
According to the Minister of State, “the menu is always open to extend the compulsory vaccination to other categories, this has many variables, it has not done with the needs of each category and the vaccination rates (in it) and the percentages vaccination as a whole in society. Of course, the obligation remains on the table, at this stage it is not among the priorities, we are waiting to see how the obligation has worked “.
Given the opportunity, he noted that “in the health structures despite the legends, there was no major disruption in the system from those who were sent on a mission, there are about 6,500 people.”
In conclusion, “we will assess whether it is necessary at some point to expand, there will be no universal obligation to vaccinate the entire population.”
Finally, in terms of catering, he separated customers from employees, since the former satisfy, as he said, a non-vital need, while the latter work there, with a mask and two tests a week.