Elections 2023 – Nikos Dendias: We argued with Mevlut Cavusoglu

The foreign minister revealed the background of the conflict between Mevlut Cavusoglu and Nikos Dendias, saying “we argued” and described how bad the atmosphere was afterwards.

Speaking on Yannis Sarakatsani’s YouTube channel, Nikos Dendias referred to the incident of April 15, 2021 when he was on an official visit to Ankara and there was great tension during the joint interview with Mevlut Cavusoglu.

“We had a fight. But we argued about something that cannot be tolerated, you cannot be inside Ankara, hear allegations that are totally against international law and keep silent, just because you are your friend’s guest. These things don’t happen. Referring to the incident, Nikos Dendias said, You know the well-known saying “A friend is a friend, but the truth is a joke.”

It also reveals how “icy” the atmosphere was at the dinner, as the Turkish side quoted, as usual, the Greek Foreign Minister after the meeting. “It was straight afterwards at the table, and they were forced to sit next to me, it was horror. The first twenty minutes were ice, Nobody spoke».

Referring to the difficult moments in Greece’s relations with Turkey, he continued: “I will not hide from you that these 3.5 years – difficult is an understatement – have been a nightmare. We have come to the brink of war With Türkiye, this is no joke.

However, he makes it clear that he belongs to those who believe that Greece and Turkey have a common interest in resolving the unique dispute.

“And if Turkey understands that resolving its conflict with Greece is also in its own interests – the interest of a European, democratic and rich Turkey, not an imperialist and backward Turkey, depends on the Turkey we are talking about – then we will find a way out.”

Watch SKAI’s report on the 2021 episode:

eutrapelas of his term

Subsequently, Mr. Dendias also referred to the tactic of… “frying” by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov. “The first time he saw me, he fried me for two and a half hours. To give you an idea, a normal ministerial visit takes three days. Seven lastedHe described French President Emmanuel Macron as an “impressive leader”.

Regarding the “oddities” of his tenure, he told of meeting … Dendia in Paraguay (a lawyer whose family left Corfu in 1870), where he accidentally called the then US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo (when a forgotten mobile phone in his pocket was pressed the back of his pants), but also the attack of the Russians in Kiev by a drone, while his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart was in progress, forcing them to go to the shelter, where the discussions continued.

“The Ukrainians gave me a gift and what was the gift? A piece of the drone that fell in the city while I was there and which we are displaying at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the only thing that was launched against a Greek foreign minister when he was outside Greece,” the master affirmed. Dendias.