“The international community must strive to ensure the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, as expressed in the Security Council resolution,” Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in his opening statement at an informal meeting (retreat) on Syria starting today. in Athens, while he stressed that “these are also the basic principles of Greek foreign policy.”

As Mr. Dendias recalled, the war in Syria has resulted in the tragic loss of countless human lives and a dramatic increase in refugee and immigrant flows. “It has become the focus of a serious humanitarian crisis and illegal military interventions by third parties in violation of international law, while we have also witnessed the emergence of terrorist and criminal networks,” he said.

He stressed that in Greece, “as a country that is in close proximity and has very close historical ties with the Syrian people, including with local Christian communities, we have felt the consequences.” In this context, he added, Greece is trying in every possible way to help in the humanitarian field, supporting the efforts of the United Nations in coordination with partners in the European Union, as well as supporting the protection of religious minorities and cultural heritage.

Foreign Secretary @NikosDendias met today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with UN Special Envoy for Syria G. Pedersen, with whom I discussed developments around Syria https://t.co/H4m90jOT7f

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@GreeceMFA) April 21, 2023

Greece also, stressed Mr. Dendias, strongly supports the efforts of the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in this spirit. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also noted that “The deterioration of relations with Russia underlined the importance of the Arab countries for the energy and food security of Europe. Therefore, cooperation with regional players is becoming an important priority for Greece.but we also believe in the European Union.”

N. Dendias noted that the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6 caused great suffering, while recalling that Greece offered assistance to both countries. But he stressed the need to send aid to Syria carefully, in line with the decisions of the UN Security Council..

“For our part, we have been working for a long time to create a security architecture in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Mr. Dendias, adding: “An architecture that is firmly based on international law and the principle of good faith.” good-neighborliness, when everyone is called to cooperate with us as long as he is bound by these principles. He stressed that Greece, in cooperation with the Republic of Cyprus, has invested in multilateral cooperation schemes with key partners such as Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel.

“These cooperation mechanisms offer significant added value for our society, for our environment, for our economy.”

“As the European Union, we have a special responsibility for stability in the Middle East, our immediate neighbourhood,” the Foreign Minister said. “My country is determined to lead further initiatives to develop cooperation between the European Union and the Arab world. And, of course, striving with all our might to achieve our common goal of peace in Syria.”

Source: RES-IPE