The view that democratic societies must insist on the staunch defense of their values, against oligarchic and authoritarian regimes, was put forward by the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, at the fifth metropolitan conference of The Economist in Thessaloniki, with the theme: “Southeastern Europe as a bridge of cooperation and development”, which is taking place at the “Ioannis Vellidis” conference center at HELEXPO.
“My message is that we must be morally and intellectually steadfast to defend the values of democratic societies, freedom of speech, the free economy, free elections” stated Boris Johnson.
Mr. Johnson stressed that the West must insist staunchly on the sanctions against Russia and continue to support Ukraine. He expressed his regret over India’s stance, particularly regarding its purchases of Russian oil. He underlined that European countries “can learn a lot” from the USA and that Trump, even if he is not liked by some, “won his votes, one by one”, through a democratic electoral process.
“I do not believe that Trump is an autocrat and that he will try to remain in his position after his term ends,” stated Mr. Johnson.
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He also defended the choice of Brexit, saying that “as much as he loves” Europe, the British regained their sovereignty on important issues, kept the pound, handled immigration better, improved relations with the USA. He also noted that the economy is doing better and this was evident even during the COVID-19 pandemic period, when Britain had the opportunity to quickly produce its own vaccines, completing 45% of vaccinations, at a time when the EU had completed only 10%.
When asked if the British would choose Brexit again today, Mr. Johnson answered that there is no chance the British would ever seek re-integration into the EU. “I don’t think it will ever happen” he said.
“Managing the crisis is not the solution, what we want is the resolution of the crisis” stressed Vangelis Marinakis.
“A potential agreement for peace in the region of Ukraine could possibly also help global trade” stressed the founder and president, Capital Maritime & Trading Corp Evangelos Marinakis,
“Some aspects of US economic policy are somewhat contradictory, for years they had intense cooperation with the Chinese market and now they are imposing strict tariffs” continued Mr. Marinakis and added: “At the same time, it seems that the US government wants to control the reserves at the Federal Reserve, control the stock markets, and lower interest rates at the Federal Reserve. On the other hand, all these might be tactical maneuvers. In the end, what we want is a better agreement”.
Mr. Marinakis also referred to the EU’s stance in the geopolitical field.
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“Europe could now have played a stronger role in stabilizing the situation and solving the problems. However, let’s be honest so far, we haven’t done particularly well it seems the average European citizen has already paid a high price for all these geopolitical realignments happening in recent years.
All these challenges have also affected Britain, which has undertaken initiatives on its part to achieve stability and peace. It cannot continue like this. We must understand that crisis management is not the solution; what we want is the resolution of the crisis. This is certainly not easy as long as the causes of this crisis still exist, but at least let us prevent further escalation. Global conflicts can affect global trade and supply chains on a global level and this could even bring about a trade war.”
“The sanctions are irrational,” stated V. Marinakis – “Persistence in sanctions is the only solution,” replied B. Johnson
In the discussion that followed, Mr. Marinakis emphasized that the war in Ukraine directly, and this is not easy when Ukraine continues to be armed, or when some territorial concessions are not discussed. Boris Johnson reacted by saying, “how many would these be, who would determine to what extent they should be,” and compared Russia’s arguments to those of Hitler in WWII. “It is not like that,” said Mr. Marinakis.
Mr. Johnson and Mr. Marinakis also exchanged views on the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia.
“Perhaps regarding the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia, we tried from the outset to proceed with safety and based on legislation; on the other hand, however, I have always believed that these sanctions that have been imposed – and this is not something new that I am saying, I have mentioned it already 3 years ago – are essentially irrational,” stated Mr. Marinakis and continued:
“Because we see, simultaneously, as Boris also mentioned, we see that India, China at this moment are importing Russian oil at very low prices and exporting products to Europe, such as for example gasoline, and we are paying at very high prices. So we have lost our advantage, while Russia through these sanctions ultimately does not seem to face any particular consequence. It continues to sell its oil, at a discount, but at higher prices and this sounds completely irrational.”
“Don’t think, Putin is not doing so well either, there has already been a 10% decrease in oil sales,” countered Boris Johnson and continued:
“The Russian economy is not doing so well. Of course, essentially I agree with you because indeed it is proving that these sanctions that have been imposed so far are not as effective as they should be, however we must not abandon them. We must not back down. We will continue with the sanctions and simultaneously other measures must also be imposed. Otherwise, absolute tragedy will soon ensue… What we need to do at this moment is to exert greater pressure on Putin and strengthen Ukraine, so that it can counterattack. We must financially penalize Putin and the sanctions, even if Turkey, India, China continue to buy from Russia, we however must remain steadfast in our decisions. And something else we must do, is to take the 300 billion, which are currently frozen and trapped in Belgium, and give it to the Ukrainians, as an advance compensation for all they have suffered and allow them to use it for their defense.”
In response to a question about Greece’s course, Mr.
Marinakis mentioned that the economy’s indicators in Greece are doing well because they are being compared to the indicators of past years, but the government has not managed to adequately tackle the inflation that is hurting the average family, or to address scandals, where there are “cover-ups”, such as that of OPEKEPE. He did not share the questioner’s opinion that a third term for the government is “probable” because “there is stability” in the country and appeared reserved about the possibility of a third term for the government, if the climate is not reversed and if measures are not taken, as the latest polls, he said, show it at lower percentages.
