ArmInfo. Greece has repeatedly stressed its support for the sovereignty and independence of all states, and this also applies to our good friends Armenians. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias stated this on September 27 in Yerevan during a briefing with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, noting that he was glad to be in Armenia again after two years.
"We believe in the inviolability of borders. And regarding what happened a few days ago, when the territory of Armenia was shelled by the Azerbaijani army, I want to quote the words of the French President Emmanuel Macron, who said yesterday, in particular: "I condemn what happened and it was directed against peace negotiations," the Greek minister said.
At the same time, referring to bilateral relations, he highly appreciated the role of the Armenian and Greek communities in the development of cooperation.
"I would also like to send a clear message to those countries that want to redraw the map - the redraw policy will fail. In this regard, I would like to mention another force that is trying to take advantage of the current situation and contribute to destabilization. It is about Turkey. We Greeks are the witness of Turkish rhetoric. "I must say that Turkey opposed the sending by Athens of a certain amount of defense weapons to the Greek islands. And this is being done in conditions when Greece is acting within the framework of its obligations arising from the Lausanne Agreement," Dendias noted.
At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that Greece does not leave its territories unprotected, which provokes protest from Turkey. "And now Turkey is threatening Greece with war by deploying its navy a few miles from the Aegean islands. We repeated that we are ready to start a constructive dialogue with Turkey within the framework of international law, but at the same time we are also ready to defend our country and our rights," Dendias said.
At the same time, he, turning to his Turkish partners, urged don't misunderstand what he said, and stressed that Greece would do everything to protect itself and its rights.
"Today we also discussed security challenges in the Caucasus. I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Pashinyan and the Minister of Defense. As for our position on the settlement of the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict, it is unchanged. We are promoting a peaceful solution through mutually acceptable compromises and within the framework of an international right," he said.
At the same time, he added that Greece welcomes the courage of Nikol Pashinyan, who proposed new approaches for the future of the region, as Macron said yesterday.
"However, solutions and peace cannot be built in conditions where there is a threat of the use of force. This applies to both the Caucasus and the whole world. Greece continued to facilitate the start of negotiations, and the contribution of the United States and the EU is significant. We are ready, together with other European partners, to help as mediators to continue negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. We cannot change the geography, but people should be able to live peacefully side by side," he said, adding that Greece believes in the urgency of resolving humanitarian issues. In this vein, he stressed that international humanitarian law must be respected.
In conclusion, pointing to the exemplary relations between the two countries, the Greek minister also touched upon the common tragic pages in the history of the two countries - the Armenian and Pontic Greek genocides in Ottoman Turkey - and the documents adopted by the legislative bodies of the Republic of Armenia and Greece in this regard.
"I also want to express my gratitude to you for your assistance on the issue of the illegal annexation of a part of the Republic of Cyprus. And we are looking forward to taking steps to promote our Armenia- Greece-Cyprus trilateral format and raise it to a qualitatively new level," Dendias summed up.