Giorgos:"We 'went' to Libya with our minds on Cyprus"

“Greece provides secondary support and does not participate either in military operations or the arms embargo”, stated Prime Minister George Papandreou, informing Parliament about developments in Libya.

Papandreou mentioned that Greece’s position concerns the application of international laws, some of which are UN resolutions.

“We, as a friend of the Libyan people, have to think about tomorrow. The people should know that they have a friend characterized by principles, unselfishness and a readiness to help the Libyan people to rebuild their homeland. Greece will not become the artfully neutral factor in these developments. Greece’s absence would not benefit our national interests”, stated the Prime Minister.

“Our national interest is to enhance our credibility without double standards. When we request respect and the implementation of UN resolutions on Cyprus and the Skopje appellation issue, we cannot oppose decisions made by the UN for other peoples and other countries”, he added.

He also stressed that this operation was made after a request by Arab states for the protection of civilians from the oppressive and hostile Gaddafi regime.