Greek PM: We have always been on the right side of history

“I begin by honoring the memory of Marietta Giannakou. A great Greek woman, a great woman, a good friend and a party fighter. No one will forget her struggles in Athens and Brussels, we say goodbye with gratitude,” underlined the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, starting his speech in Parliament, in the context of the debate on briefing the House on the crisis in Ukraine and its consequences for Greece.

“In Ukraine, there is a cut in time. Putin’s decision is a clear violation of the UN Charter and the rules for the settlement of interstate disputes by peaceful means,” he said, adding that the Russian president  “uses force to challenge the territorial integrity of a country with which Russia has close ties, causes deaths including those of Greeks in Mariupol and leads to the exile of hundreds of thousands of citizens.”

“This is a violent return to the era of hegemony. In a place where the Holocaust took on very severe proportions and in a place where united Ukrainians and Russians fought the Nazis,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis, noting that Russia’s pretext for de-Nazification of the Ukraine is weak. “This is an irrational and unhistorical invasion. The Russian invasion is aimed at forcibly changing the security architecture in Europe,” he said, adding that “the Russian threats against Sweden and Finland speak for themselves. The West is called to be re-baptized. When the Russian challenge hit the core of global geopolitical balance, delays in the West were overcome within days. Something changed in the West when we heard the elected leader of a European country say that maybe this was the last time he spoke to us. The effects of Western sanctions are already visible. The Russian economy is being crushed.”

“The attitude of the homeland is a product of our historical experiences and global balances,” the prime minister continued, emphasizing: “We have always been on the right side of history and that is what we are doing now. We are also the West and we promote international legitimacy. We live with the plague of Cyprus and we accept threats to our islands. We can not stand indifferently to authoritarian leaders who want to repaint the borders.

“Equal distances do not fit here.”

“Equal distances do not fit here. Either you are at peace and international law, or you are against it,” stressed Kyriakos Mitsotakis, continuing his speech in Parliament, in the context of the debate on informing the House about the crisis in Ukraine and its consequences for Greece.

“It is not possible to equate the perpetrator with the victim through simplistic illustrations. I can not hear naive arguments about how our compatriots were killed in Mariupol. I know hoe they lived before the Russian invasion and now they do not live. And if the French president Macron understands this, who tweeted in Greek, some people here can not help but realize it. After all, he wrote the tweet in Greek. “There is also a convergence of the extremities in Greece with the aim of fixation and oppression,” the prime minister underlined and added that we must recognize that in this crisis, Europe has risen to the occasion.

“We are on the side of Ukraine, on the side of peace and democracy – The defense of the country is an end in itself”

“To those who wonder if the specific sanctions are enough to curb Moscow’s aggression, I answer that it is a huge blow,” said the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during his speech in Parliament. “It’s the largest package of sanctions adopted by the EU. In the short term, it shakes Russia’s geopolitical and economic position while mobilizing world public opinion even within Russia. The international blockade can soon become an internal reflection,” he added on the issue of sanctions, in the debate in the Parliament in the context of informing the House about the crisis in Ukraine and its consequences for Greece.

“There are no dilemmas for Greece. “My Nation is too small to commit such a great dishonor,” said Eleftherios Venizelos, when the German ambassador asked our country in 1915 to leave its alliance. This is still true now. We are on the side of Ukraine, on the side of peace and democracy,” continued Kyriakos Mitsotakis and added: “Greece supports the sanctions imposed on Russia, the Foreign Ministry and the Foreign Minister and the Minister are doing an excellent job of protecting the Greek community in Mariupol. Yes, Greece strengthens Ukraine both humanitarianly and militarily. The Germans and the Portuguese are doing it, and we whose compatriotswere killed by Russian bombs would not? And one more thing: if we do not show solidarity, with what moral stature will we ask for support if we are provoked? ”

“We are also ready to welcome Ukrainian refugees and I call on the dozens of non-governmental organizations that have been active on other fronts in the past to do so now,” he said, adding that we are still ready and vigilant to deal with hybrid or cyber-attacks in critical situations. “Yes, the defense of the country is an end in itself. The answer can only be Europe’s strategic autonomy. This is very quickly justified by those of us who have spoken of the need to promote Europe’s strategic dimension through agreements between its members. The Greek-French agreement can be such an agreement. When one strikes the drums of war in Europe one has to rethink whether the Rafale and the Belharra frigates have a place in the Armed Forces. “Some will have to re-weigh in their assessments the outdated dilemma of butter and cannons with which they have learned to think.”

We have ways to react at the national and European level to the energy crisis

“Europe is returning dynamically to the global geopolitical millieu,” said the Prime Minister, explaining that in this context, our initiatives are moving. “Now, yes, the request to exclude defense spending from the fiscal targets of those countries, which are obliged to do so, is ripe,” he said, continuing his speech, referring to the energy crisis. “As for the energy dimension of the crisis, attempts at blackmail on the part of Russia cannot be ruled out. Such a prospect will probably cause temporary inflation. We agreed that this will be the temporary price, ‘ he said and added: “We have ways to react both nationally and at European level. At national level, we have already given € 2 billion in grants, and this policy will continue, especially to the most vulnerable, until this crisis is over. The gas companies have already moved for sufficient LNG gas. Such a problem requires a pan-European solution, joint procurement, storage and financing of energy in Europe. Following the Greek proposal, the Commission will discuss the creation of a common fund. Europe has an obligation to concentrate all its efforts in this area. The long-term solution is to quickly break free from Russian gas. The country’s goal is to quickly become autonomous by utilizing wind and solar energy, but also to become a regional and international energy transfer hub to Europe “.

We will build a second liquefied natural gas terminal with private funds in Alexandroupolis

“We will build a second liquefied natural gas terminal with private funds in Alexandroupolis“, underlined the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during his speech in Parliament in the context of the debate on the crisis in Ukraine and its consequences for Greece.