Greek President sends strong message to Turkey from Corfu
Greek President
06 Sep 2018
/ 12:34
CORFU. The President spoke today at the opening of proceedings for the 1st International Conference for Ionian Islands Expatriates.
The President of Greece Prokopis Pavlopoulos spoke at length about nat
ional matters at the opening of proceedings for the 1st International Conference for Ionian Islands Expatriates. He stressed that Greece is a country which supports peaceful co-existence and is an integral member of the EU. Regarding Turkey's acts of provocation in the Aegean Sea, he sent a strong message to the Turkish President saying that Greece's sea border is also the EU's border and European and International Laws must be respected. "Our sea is a peaceful sea, but only when the favourable winds of legality are blowing - not when there is anarchy and tempestuous efforts for the 'ostensibly powerful' to prevail. I stress - 'ostensibly powerful', said Mr. Pavlopoulos.
In Greek:
FYROM
He also referred to the issue of the official name for FYROM. "We support the expansion of NATO and the EU in the Balkans. But International Law and international legality must be respected." He made it clear that the neighbouring country - FYROM - must proceed with constitutional changes according to the Prespes Treaty which was signed recently and only then could negotiations for entry to NATO and the EU proceed.
Archbishop Anastasios
At the opening of conference proceedings the President made special reference to the guest of honour Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, praising his academic contribution to theology and describing him as a "worthy successor of the nation's great teachers". He highlighted his work on Islam and said that if some of the world's leaders had read it, then they probably wouldn't have taken the decisions that they did.
The Ionian Islands' character
He also talked about the Ionian Islands element, which is at the forefront of the conference, and highlighted the islanders' love of travel and cosmopolitan nature. He quoted Einstein, "I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious" and said, "The curiosity that those from the Ionian Islands have, and which defines them, is in their DNA. And this makes them creative wherever they are. This is the strength of Greece beyond borders."
See more photos here.
ional matters at the opening of proceedings for the 1st International Conference for Ionian Islands Expatriates. He stressed that Greece is a country which supports peaceful co-existence and is an integral member of the EU. Regarding Turkey's acts of provocation in the Aegean Sea, he sent a strong message to the Turkish President saying that Greece's sea border is also the EU's border and European and International Laws must be respected. "Our sea is a peaceful sea, but only when the favourable winds of legality are blowing - not when there is anarchy and tempestuous efforts for the 'ostensibly powerful' to prevail. I stress - 'ostensibly powerful', said Mr. Pavlopoulos.
In Greek:
FYROM
He also referred to the issue of the official name for FYROM. "We support the expansion of NATO and the EU in the Balkans. But International Law and international legality must be respected." He made it clear that the neighbouring country - FYROM - must proceed with constitutional changes according to the Prespes Treaty which was signed recently and only then could negotiations for entry to NATO and the EU proceed.
Archbishop Anastasios
At the opening of conference proceedings the President made special reference to the guest of honour Archbishop Anastasios of Albania, praising his academic contribution to theology and describing him as a "worthy successor of the nation's great teachers". He highlighted his work on Islam and said that if some of the world's leaders had read it, then they probably wouldn't have taken the decisions that they did.
The Ionian Islands' character
He also talked about the Ionian Islands element, which is at the forefront of the conference, and highlighted the islanders' love of travel and cosmopolitan nature. He quoted Einstein, "I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious" and said, "The curiosity that those from the Ionian Islands have, and which defines them, is in their DNA. And this makes them creative wherever they are. This is the strength of Greece beyond borders."
See more photos here.
