Ambassador ( Ret ) Dimitris N . Iliopoulos
Member of the Board The Hellenic Institute for Strategic Studies ( HEL . I . S . S .)
Dimitris Iliopoulos was born in Athens and studied political science at the Panteion University , and law at the Athens University , Faculty of Law , and obtained a post-gratuate diploma from the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg . His professional career began as a diplomatic officer at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1976-2013 , having served in top posts such as Belgrade , Ankara and the Greek Delegation to the UN in Geneva . He represented Greece as Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates , Albania and as Deputy Permanent Representative to the European Union . He has also served as NATO Ambassador in Tirana and as Principal Advisor on Disarmament at the European External Action Service based in Brussels . He was Ambassador of the European Union to the UN in Geneva and to the International Organizations in The Hague from 2008-18 . He participated in important international conferences ( including the OSCE and the 1st Committee of the UN General Assembly in New York ). Finally , he is the author of books and articles on foreign policy issues and a translator of literary works of the internationally known authors .
" Global geopolitical stability and security equilibrium in the Eastern Mediterranean and the prerequisites for implementing a Common Defence Dogma of Greece and Cyprus "
Following the failed experiment of globalization , the world is going through a wave of fundamental revisionism regarding border alterations and challenging the outcome of International Treaties dating since more than 100 years . Our neighborhood called the Eastern Mediterranean , including the Balkan Peninsula , could not be an exception to these earthshaking developments . The fate of Greece and Cyprus endowed them with a special geostrategic position that functioned from land as well as from sea as a cultural and commercial bridge between the developing West and the civilizations of the Middle East , thus making them a preferred target of continuous raids , invasions and long-term occupations . Greece and Cyprus continue to proclaim the principle of the inviolability of borders and the peaceful resolution of bilateral disputes . Energy issues mingle with Law of the Sea issues , such as delimitation of territorial waters and the exclusive economic maritime zones . Thus regional geostrategic policies are becoming incrementally more perplexed considering the revisionist vision of Turkey , which misses no opportunity to display her military might and diplomatic weight . This reality leaves no other option to Greece and Cyprus , but to build their own deterrent power . In this sense , both countries consider the peaceful resolution of bilateral or regional disputes to be the only way to follow , but always in conjunction with the strengthening of national defense and the exercise of effective diplomacy as the best investment in peace , security and stability that are undermined by specific aggressive and revisionist politics of our day . Putting into constructive use the tools and procedures of the EU is more than pertinent for both Greece and Cyprus . If we leave aside the problems created by Turkey ' s expansionism , the prospects today are better for the promotion of the Greek and Cypriot policies with the aim to allow them to function adequately , taking advantage of their geostrategic position , as privileged political and economic partners of the Balkan and Middle Eastern countries , as well as energy intermediaries and factors for consolidating peace and security and extending prosperity throughout their immediate neighborhood .