We want a European perspective for the Western Balkans and we clearly tell all actors that they need to step up their efforts. "Europeans should offer a clear accessible perspective to the Western Balkan countries," said Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias from London, addressing the "Strengthening Security and Stability in Europe and the Mediterranean" event organized by the Royal Institute for Defense and Security. said the MIA correspondent from Athens.

Explaining his position, the Greek Foreign Minister said that he did not say that the countries in the region would join the European Union tomorrow, but spoke of "a very clear perspective that would act as an incentive for those countries."

- They should increase the pace of reforms, they should respect their international obligations, because the alternative is grim. Without such a perspective from Europe, those others who want to turn the clock back will fill it if they no longer fill the vacuum, Dendias said.  

He explained that Greece is at a crossroads of two regions: "The Balkans - the European powder keg and the Middle East, which have gone through the bloodiest and most brutal conflicts in the last 100 years."

-Our goal is to ensure that the ghosts of the past will not return to these fragile regions. Call them Balkan ghosts, call them neo-Ottoman ghosts, call them Islamist ghosts, they are ghosts and they still haunt us. And this is a part of the world that can very easily be captured by its own history, said Dendias.

The Greek Foreign Minister cited Turkey as one example of a country trying to revive these ghosts, which "threatens Greece with war if it exercises its sovereign rights."

He added that he had issued a "casus belli" against Greece since the late 90s, "denying the undisputed right of the islands to have territorial waters over six miles, an exclusive economic zone and a continental shelf".

Prior to the event, Dendias met in London with British Foreign Secretary Liz Tras to discuss a range of topics, including the situation in the Balkans, the Cyprus issue, the Eastern Mediterranean, investment and bilateral relations.

Dendias and Tras also signed an Agreement between Greece and the United Kingdom covering all areas: defense, trade, tourism, culture, etc.

Source: MIA