The President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos emphasised on Wednesday that the release of the two Greek servicemen was a simple act of justice by Turkish authorities.
In a statement from Karpathos, the island where the President celebrated the Dormition of Virgin Mary (August 15) he said that "this happy development" shows the way Turkey should follow from now on in order the climate of friendship and good neighbourhood with Greece to be totally restored.
"We Greeks are aware of the Turkish people's problems. They are having difficult times and we know it" adding that they will not find more support in anyone else but Greece if they believe in our sincerity and our friendship. We believe that with this act (the release of the servicemen) we are making a new start," he said.
Referring to the celebration of the Dormition of Virgin Mary, the Greek President added that our thoughts are always with the victims of the deadly Attica wildfires.
Finally, he sent the general message "we Greeks are determined to defend our borders, our land and our national sovereignty which are also the borders of the European Union".
