Spain's envoy to Greece on Tuesday expressed regret that his press statements "were the cause for interpretations that in no way reflect reality", essentially defusing a mini diplomatic tempest after he more-or-less accused the Tsipras government of failing to issue a timely and robust response to the Catalonia issue this month.
Spanish ambassador Enrique Viguera's comments in the weekend edition of "Eleftheros Typos", where he also expressed displeasure over a brief takeover of the his embassy in Athens by a self-described anarchist group, first generated an unambiguous statement by the government spokesman on Saturday evening. Spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos issued a statement backing "territorial integrity and cohesion" in Spain, a solid nod to Madrid.
“Statements on the issue from the part of the (Athens) government are absent. However, other European governments warmly supported the territorial integrity of Spain and our government’s position,” the ambassador was quoted as saying in the newspaper interview.
A day later on Sunday, Greece's foreign ministry issued an uncharacteristically sharp reply towards a diplomat of an EU partner, accusing the ambassador of meddling in the country's internal affairs and even colluding with the main opposition center-right party.
Two days later Viguera issued a statement saying he wanted to work "in a productive manner" with the Greek side, while also expressing satisfaction with government spokesman's position.
