In light of the very dangerous developments for the peoples that are unfolding in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, the common stance of the Communist Parties against the imperialist interventions and wars acquires even greater importance. A delegation of the KKE recently visited Turkey and held discussions with the CP, Turkey about the developments in the region, the situation in Greece and Turkey, the tasks and experiences of the communists in the two countries. The two CPs decided to issue a Joint Statement on the developments in the Aegean Sea and the involvement of NATO there, which uses the issue of immigration as its pretext. The statement is as follows:

No to the imperialist war! NATO out of the Aegean!

The imperialist intervention of the USA, NATO, EU, Turkey, Israel and the Gulf monarchies in Syria that has been going on for 5 years and has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and to millions of others into becoming refugees and destitute, is entering a new phase of intensification. This is the phase of the even more open involvement of NATO and the preparation of possible ground operations.

It is becoming obvious that the military intervention of Russia, in consultation with the Syrian government, changed the situation at a military level, and for this reason NATO is increasing its presence in the region, amongst other things by transferring a naval armada into the Aegean Sea, using the control of the flow of immigrants as a pretext.

Those that created the dramatic situation for millions of people, who have been uprooted from their homes, are now invoking this in order to reinforce their military presence in the region. However it is well-known that the bourgeois classes, their political representatives, their imperialist alliances, such as NATO and the EU, have no sensitivity as regards the peoples and the dramas they experience. They are hypocrites! What lies behind their pretexts is the struggle against capitalist Russia for the defense of the interests of their monopoly groups, for the safeguarding of geostrategic positions, the control of energy resources, their transport routes, market shares, as well as the restructuring and reinforcement of the capital’s dominance in the region.

We, the CPs in Greece and Turkey denounce to the workers of the two countries these dangerous developments in Syria, the role of the imperialist powers, the stance of the governments of Turkey and Greece.

We stress that it is urgently necessary for the workers, the popular strata to understand that the war for the interests of the monopolies is being waged with political, economic and military means, shedding the blood of the peoples.

We note that the participation of the two countries in NATO is detrimental to the two peoples and their peaceful coexistence, as NATO does not recognize the borders and sovereign rights of the two countries, seeks to play the role of the umpire in the relations between the two countries and at the same time is the “gun hand” of euro-atlantic imperialism against other peoples.

We call on the people to be ready to prevent the involvement of our countries in new imperialist massacres, both as regards the possible scenarios that will bring our two peoples into conflict for the interests of capital, as well as regards the participation of our countries in the imperialist plans that target other peoples.

NATO out of the Aegean! No to the transformation of the Aegean into a “launching pad” for NATO!

No to the hypocrisy of the imperialist EU!

No to the imperialist war!

Communist Party of Greece

Communist Party, Turkey