Venezuela: Political Reactions Follow Mitsotakis Statement 

The statement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday evening regarding the arrest of the President of Venezuela, specifically his remark “It is not the time to comment on the legality of recent actions,” drew sharp criticism from the opposition and the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Opposition parties and former prime ministers Antonis Samaras and Alexis Tsipras accused Mitsotakis of selectively invoking international law and of diminishing national dignity.

PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis responded, stating that “the reference that it ‘is not the time to comment on the legality of recent actions’ from the position of the Prime Minister of a country that consistently bases its foreign policy on international legality and still carries the trauma of the illegal Turkish invasion of Cyprus is unacceptable. By what right and with what aim can a Prime Minister alter the fundamental basis of national foreign policy?”

New Democracy submitted a current affairs question to the Prime Minister requesting clear answers regarding his statement.

SYRIZA leader Socratis Famellos commented, “It is dangerous because it practically accepts that there is no International Law. This puts our country in new dangers, and at the same time, it exposes the whole world to new risks. His statement effectively grants a free pass and legitimizes all illegal interventions against the sovereignty of other countries.”

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) stated, “Mitsotakis’ statement on the US imperialist intervention in Venezuela is a cynical, vile, and disgraceful intervention for the Greek people, surpassing even the statements of Trump.”

Venezuelan Foreign Minister responded to the Prime Minister, saying, “It is alarming that the current Prime Minister of Greece seems not to have learned from modern European history. The Nazis used exactly the same arguments now being used against Venezuela: that rejecting a government and its ideology can justify killings, invasions, and blatant violations of international law”.