CONSTANTINE TASSOULAS: Dear Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Athens and to the Presidential Mansion, four years after the last visit to Tallinn by the President of the Hellenic Republic, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Greece and Estonia.
Your presence here, Mr. President, reflects the desire of our countries to further improve our already excellent bilateral relations and to better organize this cooperation in all areas of mutual interest, particularly in the field of digital governance, in which your country has long been a pioneer.
You will see, Mr. President, that the gift I have the honor of offering you shows that Greece, too, was once a pioneer in technology. I present to you the famous Antikythera Mechanism, a computer built 2,200 years ago and discovered in a shipwreck near Crete and Antikythera, a mechanism that was designed specifically to perform astronomical calculations.
Mr. President, our countries are both coastal, situated at opposite ends of the external borders of the European Union. We are linked by our belief in European values and our belief in International law. Due to our geographical location, we face serious common challenges and I am certain that, in this spirit of shared destiny, we will further strengthen our cooperation.
Our cooperation, Mr. President, is greatly facilitated by the fact that, as I said, we share the principles of International Law. Our two countries show the utmost respect for the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the peaceful coexistence of peoples.
Our belief in these principles has also dictated our stance on Ukraine’s ordeal against the illegal Russian invasion. We share common positions on this issue, we support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. For us, Greece, beyond values and principles, our stance on the Ukrainian issue is also dictated by our own positions and by our own adventure and trial regarding the Cyprus issue, where for 52 years we have been facing an illegal invasion and military occupation of approximately 40% of Cypriot territory by Turkey.
Our two countries and our two peoples, Mr. President, share the same concerns and, I believe, the anxieties with regard to issues such as hybrid warfare, which threatens democracy itself throughout Europe, the migration crisis, the climate crisis, as well as issues of energy security. All of these form a web of challenges and crises that our countries, working together within the framework of the European Union, are called upon to address.
I would like, after these thoughts, to thank you, because despite the distance separating our countries, the closeness of our cooperation is tangible. Estonia assists Greece with equipment and personnel on the issue of border protection through Frontex, and allow me, to express my hope that the members of the Estonian Border Guard who recently had a maritime accident near Kastellorizo are all in good health. In fact, during that small adventure, your ambassador here in Athens was also present.
I am certain, therefore, Mr. President, that both the private discussions we will hold here at the Presidential Mansion and the subsequent bilateral talks will reaffirm the excellent relationship between our countries and broaden the prospects for cooperation between our nations on a number of issues of mutual interest.
And with these optimistic thoughts, allow me to welcome you and your delegation to Athens and to the Presidential Mansion.
ALAR KARIS (unofficial translation): Thank you very much, Mr. President, for this invitation to come and visit Greece and it was a great pleasure to welcome you within the framework of the Arraiolos Group last year at the Summit held in Tallinn.
You referred to the accident and I would like to thank your government and everyone who helped our people. You see, our ambassador is here and is doing very well. You also mentioned the distance between our two countries. However, we share the same values and have great faith in International Law. For this reason, I believe that our discussions will address this issue, just as it will be addressed in our bilateral meetings. We are ready to share our experience with digital governance. We believe it has improved our lives and the lives of our fellow citizens, as well as it has enhanced transparency.
Your history is long. We want to learn from you. Last year we celebrated 500 years of our written language. It is a very important anniversary for us, but when I look at the books around us here, in your office, I realize that this span of time pales in comparison to your own tradition and civilization.
Next week, flights between Athens and Tallinn will begin. This means that our peoples will be even closer and many people will find it possible to meet face to face.
I would also like to say that in the framework of my visit, I will visit a monastery where two Estonian nuns from our largest island, Saaremaa, reside, and I will spend the night there with them.
We will, of course, also address international issues, such as the war in the Middle East and of course, the war in Ukraine. You mentioned that we must continue to support Ukraine as much as possible and work toward ending the war. We need to see how we can strengthen our own position and our own defense. We need to ensure that we have increasingly more resources for our defense and set an example for other European countries to do the same.
And this also maintains our Transatlantic relations. From our perspective, relations between the United States and Europe are important. And an important decision in this direction is to invest more funds in defense.
Thank you very much.
