ATHENS — "All Europe is facing a new, big, second wave of coronavirus. In many countries there is a dramatic increase in cases, respiratory support and deaths. Protection measures are increasing and in some cases, such as in Ireland, they are on the verge of a [full] lockdown,", government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said on Thursday. He stressed that "our country, thanks to the observance of the measures by the vast majority of citizens, still remains in a better epidemiological state than many other countries."

He pointed out, however, that "in recent days there has been, especially in certain areas, a worrying increase in cases. There is also a significant drop in the average age of people infected with the coronavirus. Nationwide, the average age of patients is 37 years, while in Thessaloniki it is only 28. This fact confirms that the main cause of the increase in cases is complacency and confusion. We see a picture of a repetition of the July-August period, where younger age groups seem to have returned to the normality before the coronavirus," Petsas said.

Referring to national issues, government spokesperson Stelios Petsas pointed out that "yesterday, the eighth in a row trilateral summit of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt sent clear messages. It coincided, after all, with the dangers caused by the Turkish leadership in the Eastern Mediterranean. A leadership that – as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed – is fantasising about imperial practices and engaging in belligerent actions, from Syria to Libya, from Somalia to the Caucasus and of course, from the Aegean to Cyprus, where it is carrying out piratical acts in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone and provoking with the opening of the beach front in Famagusta. [Turkey] is drawing arbitrary maps, signing void memoranda and passing laws that are illegal under international law, as they concern matters which are regulated by international organisations based on international rules. It blatantly violates international and maritime law, challenges international treaties, challenges UN Security Council resolutions and European Union conclusions on Cyprus, creates problems for the North Atlantic Alliance and undermines regional security."

"After accepting – as the Prime Minister stressed – the resumption of exploratory talks exclusively for the sole outstanding issue of delimitating maritime zones in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, Ankara has again chosen delinquency. Instead of seeking to hold talks, it chose provocations with its warships. Instead of dialogue for solutions, it preferred the monologue of dispute. Instead of engaging in constructive discussion, it is making illegal demands," he added.

Faced with a neighbour who is militarising diplomacy, Athens is turning diplomacy into its own weapon, Petsas added.