Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke by phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday evening, sources said.
During the half-hour talk, which sources said was cordial, the two leaders discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the refugee pressure that may ensue, a challenge that would impact both Greece and Turkey. Both leaders agreed that the neighboring countries must be supported, so that Afghanis remain as close to their homeground as possible.
Mitsotakis and Erdogan also discussed the climate change, on the occasion of the multiple fires that burned in Greece and Turkey recently, a weather challenge that all Mediterranean countries face.
The environment is one of the sectors offering Greece and Turkey opportunities for close collaboration, and one of the items on the positive agenda agreed between Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Openness Kostas Fragogiannis and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, when they met in June.
Panagiotopoulos, Chrissochoidis visit Evros: Our borders will remain inviolable
“Our borders will remain secure and inviolable”, said Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrissochoidis in a joint statement with National Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos after their visit to the Evros border region on Friday.
“It is our decision, and this is Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ order, that we convey here today to the Armed Forces and Greek police officers and to local administrators the protection of our borders”, Chrissochoidis said.
He underlined that the crisis in Afghanistan has changed the geopolitical sphere and also increased the possibility of migration flows. “We support the democratic rights and the people’s freedoms but at the same time we can’t allow the instrumentalisation of the possible migration flows that arise,” he underlined.
On his part, Panagiotopoulos asserted that “Greece continues to shield against any possible or existing security threat”. He said that his visit with Chrissochoidis along Greece’s land borders affirmed the “excellent and upgraded operation of the border protection systems, with the valuable contribution of the Greek police and Armed Forces” and the development of cutting-edge surveillance systems.
SYRIZA: Evros visit ‘a desperate attempt’ by PM to divert attention from wildfires outcome
In a statement commenting on the visit to the Evros border with Turkey by National Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrissochoidis, SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance said,
“When incompetence meets despair, then we have images such as these by the two ministers in Evros.”
The main opposition party derided Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for “a desperate attempt to change the agenda from the catastrophic fires that destroyed half the country when no winds blew” and charged him with “taking advantage once again of serious national issues to set up PR shows of bad taste with his ministers.”
Evacuation of Greek from Afghanistan completed successfully, FM rep says
A Greek national who was evacuated from Afghanistan arrived in Athens on Friday afternoon, alternate spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry Giorgos Arnaoutis said.
The man’s evacuation as the Taliban took over the country including Kabul airport was initiated by FM Nikos Dendias and was arranged with the help of the Greek Embassy in Islamabad. He was flown from Kabul to Athens through Islamabad.
“We are especially happy about this operation’s successful outcome,” Arnaoutis said. “We would like to thank allies and partners who helped us out, and his family, which collaborated with us and helped us very much in recent days.”