"The essence of what we said, from the start, is also the reason why the government chose not to watch with apathy what is happening... it is that the owners of the two teams should come in by noon and send a clear message to the public that, when they go to a stadium, it will be to watch a basketball game and not be part of a war," government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis emphasised, among others, in statements to MEGA TV on Wednesday.
He pointed out that the whole issue has enormous significance and symbolism, while all other procedures are proceeding normally through the sports justice system. "It is not the government's job to either intervene or to influence. What does the government say? It sees a phenomenon developing, which goes far beyond the limit. It intervenes and says: Let's have a clear discussion with the deputy minister of sports. Let's have clear statements on both sides and let the process of the games continue normally, with people going to the stadium."
Regarding the issue of the Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai, Marinakis stated that the government "will support, at all levels and with the presence of the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, the centuries-old claims of the Monastery, both for its character and for property issues. The ruling that was issued and hastily interpreted by the opposition, did not speak of property, it did not expel anyone, not even the monks, but I believe that the need is clear and I believe that following what was said in Greece, at the High Level Cooperation Council, we have every reason to expect it from the other side, the Egyptian side."
He then added: "We have been dealing with this issue for over a year, to find a solution, not just a year, but a year seriously to find a solution and the Monastery recognises this and the Monastery’s lawyer has said it, that in previous years the issue remained unresolved. It is not that an issue arose in the last year."
The spokesperson also pointed out that the current Greek government is the first that has sought to work with the Egyptian side for a solution that also extends into the future, involving both the foreign ministry and the education and religious affairs ministry.
Marinakis reiterated that "the goal and what was agreed in Greece, at the High Level Cooperation Council in Athens, is the signing of an agreement." He underlined that Greece's goal has for a long time been to secure a written, rather than oral, agreement for the monastery. "Now whether this will be achieved today or tomorrow, has to do with the other side. We have a position that is clear, identical to the position of the Monastery," he added.