“It is important for us to remind our Turkish interlocutors of the decisions of the European Council and to emphasize the need to respect International Law for the settlement of bilateral disputes and to respect the United Nations Security Council resolutions with regard to Cyprus “, stated Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis Minister following his meeting with the Spanish State Secretary for the European Union Juan González-Barba Pera, today in Seville.
Mr. Varvitsiotis made it clear to Mr. Barba that “Greece is a country that believes that in order to resolve bilateral problems, international law needs to be invoked, good neighbourly relations must be respected and, of course, provocative unilateral actions should be refrained from”. However, he stressed that “this is not the case with Turkey” and that is why “Greece did not consider the rapprochement between the Spanish and Turkish sides last week to be positive”.
The Alternate Minister underlined that “we share with Spain the same concerns for the future of Europe on issues such as migration, climate change and EU enlargement”. He expressed his certainty that the two countries had much to gain from a sincere, honest and lasting relationship within the framework of the European Union, and for this reason “we are determined to maintain the framework of bilateral contacts, so that in the future there are no cases that could disrupt our good bilateral relations”.
Earlier, Mr. Varvitsiotis was warmly received by the Mayor of Seville Juan Espadas Cejas.
