Greek President calls for peace with Turkey at event for Chios Ottomon massacre

The Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos made a call for peace and friendship with Turkey during an event on the island of Chios on Sunday, commemorating the Chios massacre where tens of thousands of Greeks were killed by Ottoman Turks during the Greek War of Independence in 1822.

"Today we honour the memory of the tragic victims of the massacres on Chios in 1822. Martyrs on the altar of freedom, those slaughtered indicate to us through the ages our own obligations and our own path: we do not forget the blood of the heroes and martyrs. We do not lower the flag of freedom and, consequently, of our national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

Sending a message to Turkey, Pavlopoulos said Greece and the EU desire and seek friendship and good neighbour relations.

"The Greek and European Aegean can and must be proved to Turkey to be the sea that does not divide but, on the contrary, unites [Turkey] with Europe and the West. With the self-evident proviso that Turkey respects the entirety of international law and, consequently, respects the entirety of the Lausanne Treaty," he said while addressing the event "Europe in my region" held on the island.

The Lausanne Treaty precisely outlined the borders of Greece and therefore of the EU, leaving no room for any type of "grey zone" or other form of dispute that lacked any historical basis," the Greek President said.

Greece's President had also highlighted the need for full respect of the Lausanne Treaty in order to preserve peace and peaceful coexistence during earlier statements on the island commemorating the victims of the 1822 Chios massacre.