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Foreign Minister Stresses Greece’s Role in Mediterranean Regional Stability

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Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister Ioannis Kasoulides (left) and his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias (right) talk during the press conference following an informal meeting of the Mediterranean Group at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, on Friday.

EIRNS —Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias attended an informal meeting of the Mediterranean Group at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Feb. 20. He once again stressed the importance of the stability of Greece, which sits in the middle of a triangle of instability. Kotzias said, "If some people destabilize Greece because they want to humiliate our country or to gain revenge for the resistance shown by the
election result, they should bear in mind that they will see the whole of Europe destabilized," he said after the meeting of foreign ministers from Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and Malta. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini also attended.

"They cannot punish Greece without punishing themselves," Kotzias stressed.

Asked to comment on the Euro-group meeting, a statement on the Greek foreign ministry website quoted him as saying: "First, I have to say that I am very thankful to France, because they are helping us, in their way, for more understanding in the European Union," but, said it was not appropriate to comment on the ongoing talks. He continued, however, "And I think everybody has to understand that the Greek problem is not only a problem of Greece — it is a problem for the whole European Union. We are living in very worrying times. We have big destabilization on the borders between Ukraine and Russia. We have destabilization in Libya. We have destabilization in the Middle East. We call it the destabilized triangle: We are in the middle — we are the stabilizing point, and everybody has to help us, so that destabilization does not come to the whole of Europe."

Dean Andromidas