"I want my children to live without a finger on the trigger"

Greek Foreign Minister Yorgos Gerapetritis sent important messages in his speech at the 9th Delphi Economic Conference.
Greek Foreign Minister Yorgos Gerapetritis spoke at the 9th Delphi Economic Conference and addressed Greece-Türkiye relations and sent important messages to the Greek domestic public opinion and Türkiye in particular. Gerapetritis said, "I want Greek citizens to feel safe and calm, I want my children to live without their finger on the trigger. As long as the issue of maritime delimitation is not resolved, tensions will always exist. And sometimes we need to look at things bravely." He added.
In his speech, Foreign Minister Gerapetritis summarised the following:
"We are neither naive nor delusional enough to believe that we can solve our decades-old problems with Türkiye today and tomorrow. At the same time, a key element of the good relationship we are trying to foster with Türkiye is an understanding that the basic positions of both sides will not change.
We understand how important it is to defuse tensions. The first thing I said when I took over the ministry was that you cannot avoid tensions, but the main thing is that these tensions do not lead to crises.
There have been many opportunities for tension in the last ten months. The difference compared to previous years, however, was that these tensions were mitigated by rapid management at the highest level. Instead of managing the escalation of tensions to the point where they cannot be de-escalated, they are managed from the top down so that they can be de-escalated more quickly. It is important to have a direct channel of communication.
I understand those who say that Türkiye will never change, that it will remain an unpredictable ally. But we have to realise that there has to be a calm in our region. We can have this understanding if we recognise that there are balancing positions on both sides.
In the last 10 months we have managed to show zero action on the ground and a discourse that is far from what we have seen in the past. I want Greek citizens to feel safe and calm, I want my children to live without a finger on the trigger.
I will never use disproportionate rhetoric about developments. It would be too easy for me to use my Foreign Ministry portfolio for my own benefit. The easiest thing is to be popular on national issues. I won't do that. I want to be useful for my country, not popular.
The realisation of the two leaders' meeting (Mitsotakis-Erdogan) should not automatically lead to a concrete result. Should there always be a bar for success? No. The answer is no. The answer is that on some level we need to de-dramatise the encounters between Greeks and Turks. They are leaders of two countries, they need to talk and have a sincere dialogue.
The only dispute we have with Turkey that can be brought before an international tribunal (EEZ) and that is the end of the road. I want to leave a legacy of a quiet neighbourhood. As long as the issue of maritime delimitation remains unresolved, there will always be tensions. And sometimes we need to look at things boldly.
It is a difficult conversation, a conversation that can have negative consequences for the person who is leading it, in this case me. Courage means sitting down with Türkiye and seeing how we can have a balanced position on the basis of international law that will lead us to a solution in the legal structure of this problem, and possibly to an international jurisdiction, The Hague or Hamburg, that can close the issue of delimitation."