Greek Diplomatic Life Official Site
“Our countries have chosen a path of full cooperation and friendship; we hope that other countries will decide to follow suit.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias visited Italy on November 16th where he held talks with the new Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani (pictured above). This was the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ first meeting with his Italian counterpart since the latter took office in October. The two Foreign Ministers had a one-on-one meeting, followed by expanded talks.
Afterwards, the Foreign Minister had a working lunch with the new Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Stefania Craxi, at the Greek Embassy Residence (below left). Lastly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had a meeting with the new Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign and Community Affairs of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Giulio Tremonti (below right).
The Minister of Foreign Affairs’ talks with Italian officials during his stay in Rome focused, inter alia, on further strengthening bilateral relations, EU-related issues, on the problem of migration and refugees, Turkey’s provocative stance, the situation in Libya, developments in Ukraine, as well as on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.
At a joint press conference with Minister Tajani, Minister Dendias was asked if Turkey’s threatening stance was due to the upcoming elections in the neighbouring country and he answered that: “We are all aware that Turkey is going through a pre-election period but this can’t be an excuse for its threats against Greece.”
On his part, Minister Tajani stated that “differences are not resolved through threats and unilateral actions,” while adding that “Greece’s sovereignty over the islands of the Aegean can’t be disputed. Our position is that problems are solved through dialogue.”
The migration and refugee issue, Minister Dendias underlined is a major challenge for the countries of southern Europe, which bear the heaviest burden. “It is not easy to solve the problem if there are no efforts to improve the situation in Libya. Europe should try harder for a resolution of the entire situation there and our cooperation with Italy on this issue is very close”.
Minister Tajani said that “in Brussels we found a climate of dialogue. The countries of southern Europe should not be left to cope on their own in a state of emergency that concerns tens of thousands of people who should be relocated to other countries of the Union. Italy and Greece have always shown solidarity to people in a difficult situation but cannot host all of them for extended periods of time. The current rules can be improved upon, the Dublin Treaty appears to be tired and, of course, the primary issue remains European solidarity”.
“Italy and Greece have several challenges in common such as the diversification of energy sources and energy is a very important issue even now that Greece is becoming a hub for gas and seismic prospecting,” in search of raw materials said the Greek Minister. “Italy is Greece’s most important trading partner and many Greek companies have invested in Italy and vice versa. The Agreement on Exclusive Economic Zones between Italy and Greece is based on the International Law of the Sea; what we have done together shows that our countries have chosen a path of full cooperation and friendship, we hope that other countries will decide to follow suit,” added Minister Dendias.
