A relevant alternate foreign minister for international relations on Saturday pointed to "fake news" in denying local press reports over the past 24 hours, which charged that Qatar-linked investments and business interest for Greece has abruptly ended.
Minister Giorgos Katrougalos, the previous labor and social insurances minister in the current leftist-rightist coalition government, referred to yet another, as he claimed, "fabricated incident ... whoever is circulating such stories is directly undermining national interests."
Katrougalos, a well-known attorney who specialized in lawsuits by state-affiliated contract workers, spoke from Portugal, where he is on an official visit. His reaction was carried by the state-run news agency.
He said there was no decision or information pointing to Qatari investors' losing interest in Greece.
A bevy of press reports by mainstream media claimed that a major Qatari tourism-related investment on the Ionian holiday island of Zakynthos has been scuttled. The reason, ostenisbly, is bureaucratic hurdles and foot-dragging.
"What was said by the Al Rayyan company, if it has, in fact, been said - because a similar letter has not been sent to the Greek government - deals exclusively with the (Qatari) company, and does not reflect the reality of economic ties between Greece and Qatar," he said.
