Greece’s geography grants it the natural role of serving as a bridge between Europe and its wider neighborhood

“It is a great honor to address the General Assembly for the eighth time as Prime Minister of Greece. I do so at a moment of particular importance, as Greece reaches the end of our second year on the UN Security Council and is again preparing to assume its Presidency next month,” the prime minister said and added:

“Twelve months ago, as we marked the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, we spoke of the need to reinvigorate multilateralism. One year later, that need has only become much more urgent as we are living through extremely perilous times. Conflicts are multiplying. Tensions are deepening.

And, perhaps most alarmingly, we are witnessing a further erosion of restraint in international affairs. The rules and understandings that have long provided a relative degree of stability in relations between states are increasingly being tested.”

Turning to Greece-Türkiye relations, he said: “Over the past three years, we have made a sustained effort to improve our relationship, rebuild trust and keep channels of communication open in order to prevent the escalation of tensions that could lead to unwanted crises. It is a delicate relationship, it is a relationship that carries the weight of history.

Indeed, given broader and regional challenges, the situation urgently calls for a common understanding on how we move forward. An understanding grounded in full respect for international law and the principles of good neighborly relations. After all, as I have said repeatedly, we cannot change our geography, we are destined to live side by side.

Let me repeat that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides the only institutional framework to solve our only long-lasting dispute concerning the delimitation of our continental shelf and our exclusive economic zones.

Dialogue is essential for peace and prosperity. But meaningful dialogue cannot coexist with unilateral actions that challenge the international legal order, nor can meaningful progress be made when faced with threats of war in response to the exercise of lawful rights according to international law. Such actions do not resolve differences. They end up only deepening them. And they risk undermining the stability of our wider region.

A region which, we should not forget, still bears an open wound: the unresolved Cyprus issue. Fifty-two years have passed since Türkiye illegally invaded Cyprus and continues to occupy it. A flagrant violation of international law, whose consequences persist to this day.”

Cyprus as a litmus test for the credibility of the UN

“For the United Nations, Cyprus remains a litmus test of its credibility: of its ability to uphold its own resolutions and the principles of the Charter.

Greece fully supports the recent efforts of Secretary-General Guterres to create the appropriate conditions for the resumption of substantive negotiations.

We sincerely hope that progress can be achieved during his remaining time in office. And we expect these efforts to continue under his successor, with the same objective: the reunification of Cyprus, free of occupation forces, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The principles at stake in Cyprus are being tested elsewhere too. Today, two other major conflicts continue to challenge our ability to defend the values upon which this Organization was founded.”

Europe cannot be absent from the Ukraine talks

“The war in Ukraine is now in its fifth year. Five years since Russia’s full-scale aggression brought back war to European soil.

The Ukrainian people have shown extraordinary courage defending their freedom. Greece continuously stands with them. We strongly condemn attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Diplomacy must now deliver an immediate ceasefire and a lasting peace, anchored in the principles of the United Nations Charter. Ukraine must have a decisive say in its own future and Europe cannot be absent from these negotiations.

Against this backdrop, another devastating war demands our urgent attention. In Sudan, the nearly four-year conflict has resulted in a staggering humanitarian catastrophe. Reports of atrocious war crimes continue to emerge, while the conflict is fueling instability way beyond, far beyond Sudan’s borders. We should not permit this tragedy to endure.

Foreign interference must also cease with no impunity for war crimes. Ultimately, the way forward lies in a credible, Sudanese-led political process that reflects the aspirations of the citizens of Sudan. The European Union ought to leverage its capacity to play a more active role in supporting that process and assisting in bringing this destructive conflict to an end. After all, it has real skin in the game. Should the devastating war continue, our continent will be the first to suffer from a possible massive new migratory wave.”

Humans must remain in control of AI

“A few thoughts on the topic of artificial intelligence. One of my favorite bands when I was growing up was Talking Heads. Little did I know at the time that David Byrne’s iconic song, we are on ‘a road to nowhere’, would ring so prescient four decades later.

For the first time in the history of our species, we have created a technology that openly challenges the supremacy of the human mind as the pinnacle of our evolutionary development. I will not dwell on the positive transformational potential of this revolutionary technology, whether in disease eradication, productivity enhancement, or fighting climate change.

However, it is simply impossible to ignore the fact that, at present, the risks of an unchecked and unregulated advance in artificial intelligence could greatly outweigh its potential benefits.

When the people developing the technology tell us openly that “ left unchecked AI could outrun our ability to control these systems”, the same people admit that “ we only understand a tiny fraction of what goes on in these models”, alarm bells should ring very loudly for all of us.

In simple words, the AI bosses are telling us that they have no idea how recursive self-improvement, the ability of AI to constantly create better versions of itself, actually works.

Add to that the possibility of massive job destruction, the likelihood of unprecedented wealth creation in the hands of very few, and the impact that AI may have on the very nature of human relationships, especially for our kids, and you have all the ingredients of an unprecedented political and social upheaval.

The idea that big tech companies will find some voluntary arrangement to self-regulate the development of AI is naive. It flies in the face of everything we know about the history of capitalism. The prize for the winners is simply too great to believe that benign consideration for the wellbeing of humanity will outweigh the relentless drive of capital to constantly seek better returns.

Given that the leading AI models are being developed here in the United States, this is primarily an issue for the US government to address. Fortunately, there are precedents from which we draw lessons.

In the 1940s and the 1950s, the American government heavily regulated another technology so powerful that its creators believed it could bring about either a golden age in human flourishing or the end of the world. That technology was nuclear.

The same needs to happen now. And it needs to happen fast. AI companies need to be licensed based on specific requirements: adherence to human values, transparency and, most importantly, safety. In order for a new plane to fly, it has to undergo a myriad of rigorous tests approved by the regulator. The same is not true for a frontier artificial intelligence model.

At the same time, I take the call by leading AI executives for a voluntary pause in the development of their models very seriously. But only, I repeat, only as a temporary measure to buy time for a powerful regulatory authority to be set up.

Liberal capitalism has a history of reining in market excesses, whether it was breaking up powerful monopolies or setting rules and standards to allow the market to operate with an eye on the common good. The same needs to happen now.

And as much as the cooperation of China and the rest of the world is necessary to address this huge challenge, the fate of artificial intelligence and the impact it will have on humanity as a whole will not be decided in Brussels, in Tokyo, or Brasilia. It will be decided primarily here, in the United States.

With great power comes great responsibility. Let us hope that our host country will rise to the occasion.”