THESSALONIKI – “In the last few days, we have seen a huge escalation of Turkish provocativeness towards Greece and an incredible and indescribable qualitative upgrade that constitutes a direct threat to the territorial integrity, not to mention the very existence of our country”, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said late on Thursday in his address to the Economist’s 2nd Metropolitan Summit, held with the participation of the former president of the French Republic, François Hollande, and other former European officials.

The conference took place at the conference center “I. Vellidis” in Thessaloniki, in collaboration with PowerGame.

“We had never heard anyone before now questioning the fact that the Aegean islands are Greek,” Dendias said, adding: “Our homeland, our people, our society does not shy away from these threats. Our country, our people, our society reject these threats and we call on our allies, friends and members of our European family to understand the magnitude of the challenge our country faces.”

Addressing Hollande, the foreign minister said that “the ties between France and Greece are ties that go back many centuries,” and added: “We do not forget the help you have offered us.”

He also underlined that “Greece relies on French aid, Greece relies on the strategic relationship and alliance it has with the French Republic. And I want to say clearly to every recipient that our response to the challenges we face is a response of a modern strong European Democracy, a response that rejects revisionism wherever it comes from, a response that despises neo-Ottoman concepts and practices and looks forward to a common European future with unity and solidarity.”

Solidarity and unity are also needed to deal with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis, Dendias concluded.