Greek diplomacy tries to fix PM’s faux pas on Venezuela, shows respect to International Law

“Greece will support universal compliance with International Law” at the extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council on Venezuela in New York, Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said on Monday, two days after the controversial statement of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that caused a storm of reactions.

Late on Saturday, the Greek PM posted on Venezuela and the abduction of president Nicholas Maduro that “it was not time to comment on legitimacy of such actions” and got slammed by Greek users on social media and all the opposition parties.

The Venezuelan people “have the inalienable right to decide on their future, with full respect of fundamental rights and the principles of democracy,” Gerapetritis added following the conclusion of a meeting with his counterpart of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, in Athens.

He noted that that members of the UN Security Council like Greece and Brahrain have a particular obligation to support principles and values that were the foundation of peace and prosperity in the world for the last 80 years.

In New York

In New York, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ioannis Stamatekos, stated that Greece is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela and called on all parties involved to exercise maximum restraint, avoiding actions that could exacerbate the crisis.

He stressed the need for full respect for the UN Charter, international law, and human rights, emphasizing the obligation to protect civilians.

He also recognized the importance of combating cross-border organized crime and drug trafficking, noting that these issues must be addressed through international cooperation and within the framework of international law.

Back in Athens

Back in Athens, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis defended the Prime Minister during the press briefing on Monday saying that in his statement Mitsotakis clearly implied that comments on the international law can be done  at the first opportunity, that is, at the UN Security Council.

Further he commented that the case of Venezuela cannot be compared to the war in Ukraine and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

Marinakis argued that it was not an invasion but an operation against one person and a dictator.

“The most terrible thing of all is that they [the Greek opposition parties] compare the case of Venezuela with Cyprus and Ukraine. The parties that do this are harming our own interests..

“Is it possible to compare Russia’s attack on Ukraine, that is, on a country with a legally elected government, an internationally recognized country, or the invasion of our Cyprus with an operation against a person and a dictator?” Marinakis added.

PS I guess Marinakis’ argument “not a military invasion but an operation against a single person” is something Marco Rubio and Donald Trump would envy him for.