Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took part in the Peace Summit for Ukraine that was held in Switzerland. On the sidelines of the Summit, the prime minister participated in a thematic working group whose subject was food security. Government sources said that during his speech, Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed out the significant global implications of the war in Ukraine for food security around the world and the importance of uninterrupted provision of basic food supplies.
The prime minister noted that the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Corridors and the export corridor developed by Ukraine have expanded exports, stressing that Greece supports on one hand the creation of additional routes to facilitate the transport of Ukrainian agricultural products, on the other hand projects to strengthen the capacity of Solidarity Corridors and their direct access to the Aegean Sea. Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis added, will continue to do everything possible to strengthen food security by providing sea transport or storage and distribution centres.
The prime minister underlined that sea transport routes, both in the Black Sea and the Red Sea, must remain open for the global food supply, adding that Greece, with its merchant fleet, has a particularly important role on this front. The prime minister also pointed out the importance of joint efforts in order not to destabilise food markets and prices.
Afterwards, Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed the Summit’s plenary saying that a year ago it was not given that this Peace Conference would take place as Russia did everything to prevent it. However, he said today 101 countries and international organisations are represented at this table, proving, as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands said, that the war in Ukraine is indeed a global issue, for several reasons.
He also said that maybe the the most important issue discussed in the thematic meetings was the issue of food security and expressed his satisfaction on the fact that in the results of the joint announcement they noted the importance of the preservation of the free, total and safe commercial navigation and supporting Ukraine in protecting its ports and infrastructure. He also underlined that the protection of the Ukrainian infrastructure is absolutely critical to maintaining the level of Ukrainian exports, which in turn are absolutely critical to maintaining global food prices.
Mitsotakis said that another reason and maybe the most important, that this war is an international issue is the fact that there are all here to declare their commitment to a rules-based international order and to affirm the supremacy of the Charter of the United Nations and also to send a very clear message that sovereignty should be respected, that borders cannot be changed by force, that international rules must be respected, that countries and peoples have the right to choose their own system of government and determine their own destiny and future, that the nuclear safety cannot be compromised, that food cannot be instrumented.
The Greek prime minister said that he was talking about a just and lasting peace which cannot be the result of the capitulation of Ukraine and that’s why Greece and many other countries will continue to support Ukraine to defend itself in order to reach the point of having a credible negotiation that will bring a fair and lasting peace.
Concluding, Mitsotakis underlined the importance of compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights which is a top priority not only in Ukraine but also in Gaza and Sudan adding that we should above all, prioritise the protection of the civilian population, ensure the safe return of children removed from their country illegally or forcibly transferred, as well as the release of illegally detained citizens and the further exchange of prisoners of war.
On the sidelines of his two-day participation in the Summit in Switzerland, the prime minister met with Europarliament President Roberta Metsola, the President of Moldova Maia Sandu, the President of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader and the Prime Minister of Andorra Xavier Espot Zamora.
Disputes should be resolved according to the International Law
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after the conclusion of the International Summit for Peace in Ukraine in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, was asked what expectations are being created for a future peace process between the two sides – given that Moscow is setting its own conditions which are not accepted – and if also a new window has been opened for yet another Summit.
“First of all, the mere fact that this meeting took place with almost 100 countries participating is an important global affirmation of the need to finally achieve a fair and lasting peace in this war,” the prime minister said.
“Countries, not only from the European Union, but from all over the world, were here in Switzerland, reaffirming that the war in Ukraine is not only an issue of our continent, but of the entire planet,” noted Mitsotakis adding that “if, for example, one takes into account the fact that this war has caused major disruptions in the supply chain and in the prices of basic food, one realises why, for example, what is being done in Ukraine is very important for Africa, for countries which are also tested by the effects of the climate crisis”.
The prime minister also underlined that it is extremely important that all the countries that participated in the Summit reaffirmed their commitment to the UN Charter, to the need the differences to be resolved by invoking International Law, and to the inalienable right that every country has to its territorial sovereignty and to the condemnation of changing the borders in any way, the power essentially, the strong at the expense of the weakest.
“I think this is a very important, I would say, confirmation of these basic principles, which can ultimately be the only road map for a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine. And of course, a just and sustainable peace cannot under any circumstances, as I said in my intervention, practically mean the capitulation of Ukraine. That is why Greece, like all other European countries, continues to support Ukraine, so that it can at some point come to the negotiating table from a position of self-confidence and not from a position of weakness.”
Asked on the bilateral meetings he had in Switzerland and what he expects from the dinner of the country leaders in Brussels, Mitsotakis stated “Indeed, I had the opportunity, on the sidelines of this important Summit, to meet with several of my counterparts. As you know, together with the Polish Prime Minister, we have taken on the role of informal negotiators on behalf of the European People’s Party, in order to reach a conclusion on the distribution of important positions of responsibility. Yes, I am optimistic that tomorrow evening at the informal leaders’ dinner we will be able to come up with mutually acceptable names, starting obviously with the nomination of Ursula van der Leyen to continue as president of the European Commission and for the next five years”.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
