Adonis Georgiadis described as “completely far-right” the post made by Maria Karystianou on Greek-Turkish relations on Monday.

Referring to the words “national treason” used by Ms Karystianou, the Minister of Health commented on ERT that “Greece has paid for such characterizations with rivers of blood. Such accusations should not be uttered so lightly.”

“I have said from the beginning that if Ms Karystianou can speak politically every day, it will do us—and everyone—much good. I have said that her discourse bears a far-right stamp; she objected, but her post is completely far-right,” said Mr Georgiadis.

Explaining why, in his view, terms such as “treason” or “traitors” should not be used, the Vice President of ND recalled that “I, who was on the barricades over the Prespa Agreement and went to the rallies, said that Tsipras is not a traitor.”

As for Greek-Turkish relations, Adonis Georgiadis expressed the view that “if there is one field of government that has been treated unfairly and in reality our performance is very good, it is foreign policy.”

“Is there anyone proposing turbulent waters with Turkey, with fleets in the Aegean? Calm waters are basically the rational choice for Greece because we are a peace-loving force. To accuse Gerapetritis or Mitsotakis because he has achieved something that all 11 million Greeks want is nonsense. Do calm waters benefit us? Absolutely. First, because that is what Greece prefers. Second, because it gives the country time to equip the Armed Forces. Third, because Greece is a tourist country. You have to be foolish not to want calm waters,” Mr Georgiadis added.

In this context, he also said that “the time for the cable will come; it will be laid at the appropriate moment. The government will not retreat by even a millimeter from national rights; we are not waiting for Karystianou to tell us that.”

Finally, expressing the view that ND will secure 40% in the 2027 elections, Adonis Georgiadis stated that “we cannot co-govern with PASOK because Androulakis does not want to be in the same room as Mr Mitsotakis; he sees him in church and does not even wish him a happy new year. A Mitsotakis-Androulakis co-government cannot exist. There will be no prime minister from ND who is not the winner of the elections—Mitsotakis. So when you go to the ballot box you must choose whether you want a government or chaos.”

Karystianou’s post

In her first intervention on Greek-Turkish relations, Maria Karystianou called on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for public information regarding the agenda of the forthcoming meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, even raising the question of whether the meeting is necessary.

In a post on X, and amid processes for the establishment of her political entity, Maria Karystianou states that the meeting between Mr Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan takes on particular weight following statements by Hakan Fidan, who said that “we should not get up from the table if the problems are not resolved.”

For this reason, she calls for information so that “Greek citizens may judge whether or not this meeting should take place,” as well as for the government’s positions on the issues to be discussed, without providing further clarifications…

At the same time, she notes that the preservation of national sovereignty and the exercise of the country’s sovereign rights, as they arise from international law, “are non-negotiable, and any relinquishment of them is national treason.”

The full post by Ms Karystianou:

Mr Mitsotakis, you have agreed to an upcoming meeting with Mr Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey—a meeting for which Mr Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, even stated: “We should not get up from the table if the problems are not resolved.”

This meeting, therefore, which you have accepted, is of major national importance; for this reason all Greeks are entitled to know: (a) what the issues to be discussed are, as officially communicated to you, so that Greek citizens may judge whether or not this meeting should take place; and (b) what your government’s positions are on these issues.

It is self-evident that the preservation of national sovereignty and the exercise of the country’s rights under international law are non-negotiable, and any relinquishment of them constitutes national treason.