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The entire agenda of national affairs and armaments is commented on by the official opposition leader in an interview on a website, launching a fierce attack on the government and the prime minister personally.
Speaking to militaire.gr, Alexis Tsipras states: “As much as I worry that last week’s diplomatic defeat in Brussels will turn into the 21st and a national defeat, I am equally concerned that we will face a new race frenzied arms race with an excuse for the defeats that we accept at the diplomatic level, I hope not at the national level ”.
The SYRIZA president asked Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to clarify whether the national strategy has changed, while stressing that “it would be a tragic mistake to play with national issues and prioritize domestic political expediencies.”
Great diplomatic failure
Focusing on the results of the recent Summit, A. Tsipras points out that the country found itself without a strategy in the face of the incredible escalation of tensions and challenges, emphasizing that the government failed to create the conditions for an honest and sincere dialogue with the other party and the possibility of concluding at European level to avoid this escalation.
“For more than six months we have seen Turkish investigators not only violate our sovereign rights, but extend up to six miles from Kastelorizo and Rhodes.” “If we were a government and we had Oruts Reyes running like the ocean liner in the southeast Aegean and the southeast of the Mediterranean {…} and the Minister of State set the limit at 6 miles, I think Mr. Mitsotakis would be in demonstrations for the resignation of the government ”, he commented.
He expressed his concern that we will face “important concessions, significant defeats” if Mr. Mitsotakis “continues with this strange attitude, of walking without strategy, without plan, without compass, without allies and right after comes to justify.” unjustifiably … ».
“They tell the Greek people half the truth”
He accused the prime minister of trying to be on three ships at the same time and “mainly holding the hull of the Macedonians,” noting that the government is withholding half the truth from the people, culminating in the secret Berlin agreement and mediation of the NATO.
Tsipras argued that when a sovereign right of his is violated and questioned, the only way to protect it is by exercising it and that “that is why we request the extension to 12 nautical miles south and east of Crete with a view to Kasos, Karpathos.” He noted that all diplomatic means and weapons should be used for a stronger stance of the allies, especially the EU. “We want through dialogue to find solutions based on international law. However, we will not earn a rupee from our rights under international law. “We want dialogue, but without blackmail,” he said.
He referred to the “active multidimensional” foreign policy of his government, noting that the country’s geopolitical role, which was “collapsed”, had been improved and that “we are close to solving the Cyprus problem.”
He blamed the Prime Minister for the lack of information to the opposition and stressed that “if at this time our national line in relation to the sovereign rights of the country, in relation to the prevention of investigations within the Greek continental shelf, all critical issues It has changed, Mr. I believe that Mitsotakis has the obligation to request the convocation of the Council of Political Leaders and to present their thoughts and opinions and ours and to put them on record ”.
SYRIZA’s president described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as difficult, predictably assertive, and often predictably provocative, arguing that Turkey is not surprised and that its stance has remained stable over the years. targeting, strategy.
“Mitsotakis lied to me about Rafale”
His criticism of the government’s new weapons is also harsh, clarifying that SYRIZA voted “present” because it has no confidence in the government for the spending on weapons it has announced, “as it has announced, without consultation, without dialogue, with a lack of strategy. and because lately we have been seeing an alien attitude towards the goal of armaments “
He also accused Kyriakos Mitsotakis of lying to him about the Rafale, stating that “while he was in intense negotiations with the French side for the frigates and for the defense agreement, suddenly where we were waiting for the frigates, the frigates took off their wings and became Rafale. ” and the defense agreement flew, before the Rafale flew. “Mr. Tsipras said that when asked why he was doing this, he replied that” we do not have the financial capacity, because the CoE decision was made and we have to give retroactively. “” And now comes a budget, which proves that he lied to me, because expenses double, expenses multiply, “he added.” I ask directly: What is the objective and the strategy? “, He said, pointing: “I have no problem with the Rafale aircraft because the direction of the Armed Forces tells me that it is a very useful weapon. If the other party told me that we would take Rafale but we would also insist on frigates like the Belharra, not necessarily specific ones, I repeat – I do not enter into this discussion – but in any case they would also get a defense agreement with France, is the defense agreement with France crucial and useful? So why did France not play an active role in the previous Summit to win the sanc ions? I hear, therefore, that here we are going to a strategy of modernizing the existing frigates or even acquiring new frigates without these possibilities ”.
After that, Mr. Tsipras asked the question “do we adopt, then, another doctrine here and Mr. Mitsotakis has not explained it to us?” That the Eastern Mediterranean region is not an area where the country can defend in a autonomous your sovereign rights or do you need to defend them east of the 28th meridian or east of the area where we concluded the EEZ agreement with Egypt? “He emphasized that if this is the case, then it is not just an economic question, but a question of national sovereignty. “If the country has changed its strategy and that is why we do not react to the violation of our sovereign rights and the investigation by the Turkish investigation and that is why we change our strategy and we do not go to this type of frigates and that is why we are not interested” A defense agreement with France, Mr. Mitsotakis must say these things to the Greek people, “he stressed.
Criticizing the government’s handling of weapons, he commented that “the ball is lost” and that “overnight budgets are inconceivable,” also asking questions about the F-16s. He spoke more widely of “indications of a terrible strategy deficit and a distant attitude in terms of financial figures” and that what SYRIZA is asking is “to bring us contracts, bring us financial figures, bring us Explain what exactly you are doing”, because , as he added, “we had not seen such an acceleration of the procedures even during the period of the great scandals.” “Because I do not want to imply anything, I say that they must follow the procedures, give all the details with total transparency and explain, mainly, what is the strategy for strengthening the Armed Forces, which is otherwise necessary and should proceed in terms of human resources, “he said.
Finally, the official opposition leader, after describing the Prespa Agreement as Erdogan’s greatest defeat in the region, clarified that it would be a tragic mistake to play with national issues and call early elections. “It would be a tragic mistake to turn to a national issue or to focus on a really difficult situation, but which is not yet a crisis, in terms of Greek-Turkish relations,” he said.
