Nikos Dendias has said Ukraine owes Greece a “big apology” after a Ukrainian naval drone was discovered off the coast of Lefkada earlier this month, describing the incident as “completely unacceptable.”
Speaking during a conference on “National Action Plan under Conditions of Global Uncertainty,” Dendias warned the drone posed a serious threat to maritime safety in the Mediterranean.
“In addition to the apology, [Ukraine] owes us the absolute assurance that something like this will not happen again in the wider region,” he said.
Referring to the possibility of a collision involving civilian vessels, Dendias noted the drone had been located along a route commonly used by cruise ships travelling from Venice to the eastern Mediterranean.
“If a cruise ship were to go down from Venice to the Eastern Mediterranean – it was right on [the drone’s] course – and hit it, the ship would go to the bottom of the sea. How many dead would we have mourned?” he said.
“And how permissible is this thing in the Mediterranean?”
Dendias said Greece and other Mediterranean countries needed to take a firm stance over the incident, while also referencing reported Turkish legislative drafts relating to maritime claims, stressing that Greece would defend its rights if challenged.
Source: Ekathimerini.
