While on a visit in Kozani, the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, sent a clear message to Turkey that "its arbitrariness will not be accepted and that, with the support of the European Union and the International Community, we will fully defend our sovereign rights with regard to borders, continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Greece and the European Union."
Addressing the EU, US, and NATO, Pavlopoulos said "Greece's international alliances in our region are already bearing fruit," adding that "if Greece alone needs to fulfill its role as a guarantor of European and international legality, it will do so."
Concerning the European Union, the President noted "it must be aware that Greece's struggle also concerns its own vital issues, in particular with regard to its territory, borders and its Exclusive Economic Zone and is obliged to defend them."
For the US and NATO, he underlined that "they have a duty to act accordingly when Turkey grossly violates International Law, with the most recent example being the Law of the Sea."
The President of the Republic also stressed the need for unity among Greeks in order to deal with the provocations and dangers, in particular to defend national issues and national laws, specifically those concerning relations with Turkey.
""Greece has shown that it is so consistent with its European obligations that even its national issues, particularly those concerning its relations with Turkey, are defended solely on the basis of European and of international law, and in this context it also favors Turkey's European perspective, provided that it fully respects international and European law, but unfortunately Turkey is undermining every aspect of its European perspective by strongly and clearly violating international and European law,” he emphasised.
