The government spokesperson Yannis Oikonomou announced that on Sunday 13 March the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul. Mitsotakis will celebrate the feast of Orthodoxy and will meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The Prime Minister was invited to lunch by the Turkish President, an invitation he accepted.
«The two countries face common challenges. The Prime Minister will come to the meeting with a positive attitude, without illusions and without differentiating from the known positions based on international law,» said Mr.
Specifically, regarding the meeting between the Prime Minister and the President of Turkey, the government spokesman said:
«On March 13, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be in Istanbul where he will celebrate Orthodox Sunday at the Ecumenical Patriarchate and meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Afterwards, the Prime Minister will have lunch with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan at his invitation.
The Prime Minister has stated that he is always open to a meeting with the Turkish President, especially in the new circumstances created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On the occasion of his visit to Istanbul, the Prime Minister was invited to a lunch by President Erdoğan, which he accepted.
At this difficult time for the world, our two countries, despite our differences, face common challenges on a number of issues. Challenges that need to be addressed in the logic of solving problems, not adding to them.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has dramatically changed the security situation in Europe. On the other hand, however, it has also reiterated the international community's unequivocal condemnation of any form of expansionism and revisionism.
The Prime Minister will approach the meeting with the Turkish President with a positive attitude, focusing on substance and not on rhetoric, without illusions and of course without any differentiation from Greece's firm and clearly stated positions, positions which are based on international law.».
Continuing the briefing, Mr.Economou noted that «Honesty and consistency in the long run are basic guarantees of the survival of peoples. The unity of the Greeks is unbreakable. Greeks are not historically naive enough to be led astray. Greece's stance in the invasion of Ukraine demonstrates its commitment to international law. It took a clear stand against the Russian invasion from the very first moment. We are now also on the right side of history. Revisionist logic cannot be tolerated by anyone», he continued on developments in Ukraine.
The government spokesman also referred in detail to the operations for the protection and security of our Greek expatriates in Ukraine.
«Greece is accepting and will continue to accept refugees from Ukraine. Greece will provide Ukrainian refugees with an exceptional 12-month residence status,» Mr. Economou added and referred to the relevant actions of the ministries.
Economou also said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is leading to a precision rally and spoke about the government's actions against precision. He said that the Greek proposal for a European response is being promoted and said that more than 2 billion euros have been allocated internally.
He also referred to the new increase in the minimum wage, the new interventions expected to be announced by the government and a series of actions that lead to income enhancement such as the reduction of the ENFIA.
«The Russian invasion is causing serious turbulence. Great difficulties await us. The government is making every effort to reduce the adverse effects of unprecedented energy price increases. With a plan we will stand by the citizens in the face of the difficulties ahead,» he stressed.
In detail, the introductory statement of the government representative at the briefing of the political editors:
«On March 13, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be in Istanbul where he will celebrate Orthodox Sunday at the Ecumenical Patriarchate and meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Afterwards, the Prime Minister will have lunch with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan at his invitation.
The Prime Minister has stated that he is always open to a meeting with the Turkish President, especially in the new circumstances created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On the occasion of his visit to Istanbul, the Prime Minister was invited to a lunch by President Erdoğan, which he accepted.
At this difficult time for the world, our two countries, despite our differences, face common challenges on a number of issues. Challenges that need to be addressed in the logic of solving problems, not adding to them.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has dramatically changed the security situation in Europe. On the other hand, however, it has also reiterated the international community's unequivocal condemnation of any form of expansionism and revisionism.
The Prime Minister will approach the meeting with the Turkish President with a positive attitude, focusing on substance rather than rhetoric, without illusions and of course without differentiating from Greece's firm and clearly stated positions, positions which are based on international law.
Russian invasion of Ukraine and Greece's stance
Greece, as the foundation of modern Western civilisation - the civilisation of freedom, justice and humanism - bears an enormous moral and cultural burden. This tradition and heritage have always been a guide in the long course of our nation. It is also our unwavering faith in the highest ideals that has sustained us to this day, despite the immense trials we have endured. And Greece will not, even at this very difficult juncture for the world, sacrifice, on the altar of any opportunism, its immense moral and cultural greatness. Honesty and consistency, in the long run, are basic guarantees of the survival and longevity of peoples. This must not be forgotten by anyone, either inside or outside Greece. The unity of the Greeks is unbreakable and no one will succeed, in any way, in sowing discord among us.
The Greeks are not historically naïve nor are they so obsessed that they can be carried away by outside voices. They have a deep historical consciousness and know perfectly well how to combine the service of national interests with international law.
Greece, with its stance on the invasion of Ukraine, proves once again its commitment to international law, its respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every independent state. It is demonstrating its credibility and its solidarity with our partners and allies, without omissions, without asterisks, without footnotes.
From the very first moment, it has taken a clear stand against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and sends a clear message in every direction: that we are now - as we have always been - on the right side of history. That we are honouring our alliances and aligning ourselves with our partners and allies. That we are entitled - by extension - to their support in the face of every challenge. That revisionist rationale, wherever it comes from, cannot be tolerated by anyone.
From the very first moment, the Government has actively expressed its concern for our expatriates and Greek citizens who were in Ukraine, as well as for the entire Ukrainian people who were suffering.
Despite the extremely difficult conditions, our diplomatic authorities, our Consulates in Mariupol and Odessa - in cooperation with the Crisis Management Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - organized five operations to evacuate our fellow citizens from Kiev, Mariupol and Odessa:
-Operation «Nostos 1» for the evacuation of Greek and Cypriot citizens from Kiev, which was closely coordinated by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Greece and Cyprus.
-Operation «Nostos 2», organized by the Consulate General of Odessa, coordinated by Consul General Dimitris Dochtsis.
-Operation «Nostos 3», led by Ambassador Francis Costellino, for the removal of Greek citizens, including journalists who were at the Consulate in Mariupol.
-Operation «Nostos 4», for the removal of Greek citizens, as well as Romanian and Filipino sailors from a Greek-owned ship in Odessa.
-And operation «Nostos 5», for the evacuation of Greek citizens, as well as Filipino sailors of a Greek-owned ship back in Odessa.
The Consul General, as well as the Consulate General staff, due to the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, will continue to work from Galati, Romania.
In the meantime, Greece is receiving - and will continue to receive - refugees from Ukraine. Yesterday 722 Ukrainian citizens entered the country, while 5,421 refugees have entered Greece since the beginning of the war. There is full coordination of all the services involved and all the data on the reception procedure at each of the country's entry gates, the provision of temporary protection, the conditions of accommodation and the next steps are constantly being examined.
Greece - as already decided by the European institutions and adopted by our country - will provide Ukrainian refugees with an exceptional special temporary protection status for 12 months, derogating from the standard asylum procedure. In addition, from 4 April, there will be a possibility of a fast-track procedure for identification and provision of a special biometric identity card for a 12-month stay to those Ukrainian citizens who wish to remain in our country.
Meanwhile, a special website has been set up to receive requests for humanitarian aid for Ukrainian displaced persons, where public and private bodies, citizens and NGOs can digitally submit how they want to contribute to the relief of Ukrainian victims of the war.
-About 5,000 hospitality beds are currently available and can reach 30,000.
-The Ministry of Health is preparing a special vaccination campaign for unvaccinated refugees, while at the same time preparing to send additional health material to Ukraine.
-The Ministry of Education, in the framework of the «Inclusive School» action, has put school units on standby to receive Ukrainian refugee children.
-The Ministries of Labour, Rural Development and Food, Development and Tourism record the needs of the labour market for seasonal or permanent staff, which are not covered by the domestic workforce: In the agricultural sector, manufacturing, tourism, catering and technology companies. The aim is to identify employment opportunities for Ukrainian refugees.
-The Ministry of Interior is in close cooperation with the Church, the KEDE and the ENPE, in order to assist in the accommodation of refugees.
At the same time, one should not and cannot overlook the fact that we are already facing the consequences of Russia's revisionism, as the invasion of Ukraine is mathematically leading to a rally of precision in every aspect of our economic life.
The Government is developing actions at both national and European level to support households and businesses in the face of the unprecedented price increases in the energy market, which is affecting the prices of a range of products and services. Among other things:
At European level:
The proposal put forward by the Prime Minister and adopted by the European Council for a common European response to energy price rises is being promoted. In this context, the Prime Minister is taking the initiative to intervene at European level on gas prices.
The EU is being asked to exempt a number of expenditures from counting towards budget deficits in order to expand the fiscal space to support households and businesses.
In the inner field:
First: From the very first moment of the energy price increases, in September 2021, the Prime Minister announced and the Government has been implementing consumer support measures to cover a significant part of the price increases. So far, over €2 billion has been allocated for this purpose, and this horizontal support policy will continue.
Second: The procedures provided for by law have been initiated, so that from May there will be a second, brave - as the Prime Minister said - increase in the minimum wage.
Third: We are working on targeted interventions - the amount and scope of which will be announced in March - to support our economically vulnerable citizens.
Fourth: A new -permanent- reduction of the ENFIA is being implemented immediately, so that we will pay 34% less tax this year than in 2018.
Fifth: A bill to protect the first home of the most vulnerable borrowers is proposed, freezing all property auction procedures. It provides for a state subsidy of €70-210, depending on the members of the household, to suspend the auction process of the first home of vulnerable borrowers for a period of 15 months.
Sixth: Legislation puts a «cap» on the gross profit margin on the sale of any product or the provision of any service necessary for the health, nutrition, subsistence, transport and safety of the consumer. No gross profit margin per unit of product may exceed the corresponding margin before September 1, 2021.
Seventh: A concrete plan is being developed to have cheaper housing overall, especially for our young people.
Undoubtedly, the Russian invasion is causing serious upheavals for all the states, all the peoples of Europe. The international environment has changed violently. Great difficulties await us, caused by the war in Ukraine. The Government is making every possible effort to reduce, as it is impossible - as it is for all countries - to fully neutralise the adverse effects of the unprecedented energy price increases and the consequences they will have on the entire market. We are working - and will continue to work - to promote the reforms that the times demand for high, sustainable and socially equitable growth.
With a plan, with wise policies, we will stand by our citizens in the face of the great difficulties they face, in the face of the difficulties that lie ahead of us. We moved better than many European countries in 2021, and we will do the same this year.».
