Today Tuesday 18 August 2020 the Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos had a phone call communication with the Minister of Defence of Germany Mrs. Annegret Kramp – Karrenbauer, with whom he discussed the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean following the unlawful behavior of Turkey.
The Minister thoroughly briefed his German counterpart on the developments and underlined the importance of the role of the EU, as well as of the German Presidency in the establishment of an environment of peace, security and stability in the region. Mr. Panagiotopoulos also stressed that we are ready to initiate talks with our neighbours in the context of International Law, provided that the Turkish war ships, as well as the survey vessel, are immediately withdrawn from the area of the Greek continental shelf.
Mrs. Annegret Kramp – Karrenbauer agreed with the estimation of the Greek Minister that the current situation could trigger an accident, hence, it should be confirmed that any actions for further escalation are avoided, and that tensions will be eased to pave the way for dialogue.
The Minister of National Defence also stated that he will brief his EU counterparts on the developments, at the informal EU Defence Ministers meeting to be held in Berlin on the 26th of August 2020.
