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In an interview with To Vima<\/em>, Gerapetritis said \u201cthe Greece of passive diplomatic inertia is gone for good.\u201d The so-called \u201ccalm waters\u201d approach, he argued, is not an end in itself. Recent de-escalation, he said, has given Greece room to contain crises, grow the economy, modernize the armed forces and widen its diplomatic network.<\/p>\n He pointed to new Rafale fighters, upgraded F-16s, Belharra frigates and forthcoming F-35s as proof that Greece now holds a stronger air and naval position. That military edge, he added, sits alongside closer strategic ties with the United States, France, Israel, Egypt, India and Gulf states.<\/p>\n On the 2023 Athens Declaration, Gerapetritis said the framework remains a useful channel of communication. It does not, he stressed, imply any retreat from Greek legal positions; both sides keep their claims intact.<\/p>\n He was blunt about Turkey\u2019s newly declared Aegean marine parks. They are \u201cillegal\u201d and have no legal effect, he said, because they extend into undelimited waters over Greece\u2019s continental shelf. \u201cAny attempt to violate our sovereign rights will be met with every available means.\u201d Greece remains committed to peaceful settlement, he added, but is \u201cabsolutely ready for any scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n Greece also retains the \u201cinalienable right\u201d to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles and can do so unilaterally \u201cat a time and in a manner of Greece\u2019s choosing.\u201d<\/p>\n Gerapetritis dismissed the idea that Athens is \u201coverinvesting\u201d in Israel. Greek policy, he said, is multi-layered, with open channels to both Israel and the Arab world. He also reaffirmed that the Greece\u2013Cyprus electricity interconnector is essential to ending Cyprus\u2019s energy isolation and will be fully implemented.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Turkish Analysts Debate Scenario of Israeli Attack on Istanbul<\/strong>.<\/p>\n