“The next time the PASOK leader wants to raise questions in parliament, he would be well advised to first ask his aides what the prime minister has already said publicly. This is especially important when it comes to foreign policy.”
Government sources said this in response to objections raised by Nikos Androulakis in parliament over the Maximos Mansion’s handling of the vessel set to begin surveys for the GSI electricity cable linking Greece and Cyprus.
The same sources said that, around midday today, Mr Androulakis referred to the French side’s note verbale concerning the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection and raised questions from the floor of parliament that had already been answered just hours earlier by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the “Greece Talks” conference organised by Proto Thema and Travel.gr.
“We would therefore like to inform Mr Androulakis that the prime minister made clear:
‘What has been sent by the French side does not create any issues for the Greek government, although I cannot go into further detail at this time. The information the French side has provided to Turkey does not in any way create any legal precedent and cannot under any circumstances be construed as a request for authorisation.’”
Government sources also noted that the prime minister had reminded parliament that the government had never refused to brief it, and had done so very recently. He also posed a reasonable question: “How should the foreign minister feel when a briefing is held behind closed doors under parliament’s rules, while a distorted account of it is leaked in real time?”
“At the very least, Mr Androulakis should take on board the prime minister’s point that political debate is legitimate, but national issues are at stake here.
On national issues, seriousness and responsibility are not optional. They are an obligation for everyone,” the government sources concluded.