[Alexandros Avramidis/Intime News]
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis defended his government’s “calm waters” policy towards Turkey, saying it has already yielded practical results, lowering tensions with the neighboring country.
“Our foreign policy, above all, consolidates peace and justice in the region. Our goal – and we have achieved it – is to restore a functional relationship with our neighbors, with Turkey,” he told New Democracy members at the party’s pre-conference in Thessaloniki on Saturday.
“This policy has practical results. Fewer violations in our airspace, smaller migratory flows, but also more visitors from Turkey who strengthen the local markets of our islands. These are tangible elements that also respond to the hypocritical voices of those who question the choice of calm waters.”
“Calm waters, my friends, mean free waters, waters in which International Law prevails and waters that will always remain blue and peaceful, the colors, that is, of our flag and our sovereign rights. After all, with this policy, since 2019, Greece has been growing,” he added.
The prime minister went on to defend the government’s tough stance on migration, saying its twofold goal to reduce flows and increase returns have been achieved.
Regarding the border fence built by the government along the Evros river, he said it has been expanded to cover 75 kilometers to cover the “most difficult sections” of the border line with Turkey.
“As for those who called the fence a symbol of division, I answer them here, from Thessaloniki: For us, the fence is a symbol of sovereignty, we do not need any permission to guard our home. And neither do we apologize when we enforce the law,” he told party members, and went on to criticize the previous left-wing government for what he said was lax border control.
“We will not do you the favor of returning to a time when the seas had no borders and you built Moria and Idomeni,” Mitsotakis said, referring to a now-closed, overcrowded detention facility for arriving migrants in Lesvos, and a sprawling, unofficial camp in northern Greece which closed in 2016.
“We will continue to prevent those who traffic in human suffering. We will not let traffickers take command and decide who will enter our country. With a New Democracy government, Greece will never again become a free-for-all.”