Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras met on Thursday with EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell, on the sidelines of the PES pre-Council meeting in Prague, party sources said, where he stressed that the EU must do more than only statements to oppose Turkish aggression.
The sources said that, during the meeting, Tsipras noted that the EU should not confine itself to mere statements in response to escalating Turkish aggressiveness but is obliged to adopt a package of sanctions immediately based on the 2019 framework, which is activated in the event that Turkey violates Greece's sovereignty and sovereign rights.
Additionally, he said that Greece will make a decision, on its part, regarding the extension of its territorial rights in the Eastern Mediterranean and that the EU should press Turkey to return to the path of diplomacy with Greece, based on a new framework for EU-Turkish relations.
He added that Europe that should not stand by as people die in the Aegean, underlining that there must be a fair Migration and Asylum Pact, pressure on Turkey to meet its commitments and to not weaponise the migrants' issue, as well as a generous relocation programme for EU member-states.
Finally, he noted the need for the EU to propose a peace plan for terminating the Russian invasion and to develop a substantial policy of strategic autonomy. He added that the European Political Community is a positive initiative but that it is crucial to promote the EU accession prospects of the Western Balkans and that the same European initiative is needed for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, while making it clear that there is no room for their accession to NATO.
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