The Diplomat
The Secretary of State for the European Union, Juan González-Barba, concluded yesterday the first stage of his tour of Greece and Cyprus in the midst of the double maritime dispute that both countries have in the Eastern Mediterranean with Turkey.
The trip to Athens was “the first official trip of the Secretary of State outside Spain in 2021, a symbol of the importance that our country attaches to Greece, not only bilaterally, but also as a European and Mediterranean partner”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated yesterday in a press release.
During his stay in the Greek capital, Gonzalez-Barba met with his counterpart, Alternate Foreign Minister Miltiades Varvitsiotis, and with the head of the Prime Minister’s Diplomatic Office, Ambassador Eleni Sourani, to whom he conveyed Spain’s satisfaction with the resumption of exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey and reiterated Spain’s “support and solidarity” with Greece as a “European partner and friendly country”.
The talks between Turkey and Greece began last January 25 in Istanbul following the dispute that arose months ago as a result of Turkish gas exploration southeast of the Greek island of Rhodes, in waters that both Ankara and Athens consider part of their exclusive economic zone. In this regard, Gonzalez-Barba yesterday underlined Spain’s position in favor of “a lasting and satisfactory solution in the Eastern Mediterranean”.
“This trip will have its continuation tomorrow (today) with a visit to Cyprus”, the Ministry added, without further comment. The Cypriot government has called on the EU to extend its sanctions on Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Executive for the hydrocarbon prospections also carried out by Turkey in the waters of the Cypriot exclusive economic zone.
In addition, González-Barba discussed with his Greek interlocutors issues such as the relationship between the EU and Turkey, the European Recovery Fund, the enlargement of the EU to the Western Balkans, migration and, most notably, the evolution of the pandemic, both in health and economic terms, with special mention of the impact on tourism, a sector that has a significant weight in the GDP of both countries. The Secretary of State also reiterated Spain’s support for the proposal of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to create a European vaccination certificate, according to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The visit also included a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Defense, Alkiviadis Stefanis.
