The Minister of Foreign Affairs met with officials of the Greek diaspora and with Greeks who left Mariupol and are in Odessa.
The message that “the Mitsotakis government, Greece is making every effort to protect on the one hand Odessa itself, but also the elements of our own cultural presence here from the consequences of the war” was sent from Odessa, where he is visiting today, by the minister Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias.
“It is my great pleasure to be back in Odessa today. First of all, to meet the mayor, G.Trukhanov, and to be able to discuss how we will coordinate the joint effort to make the historical center of Odessa a cultural monument protected by UNESCO, a World Heritage Site. To create a cultural shield that will protect this historical center from the consequences of war. A center that is connected to Greece, primarily because this is where the Greek Revolution began.
The building that started the Greek Revolution is located here, it is owned by the Greek State. But also in the building of the Opera House, where we are now, we are connected to Odessa. It is a building that was built during the mayorship of Grigorio Maraslis, a Greek who has benefited Greece in many ways. The City Hall in my hometown, Corfu, is called Maraslio” said Nikos Dendias in his statement.
As he announced, “we decided with the help of the Ministry of Culture, which will provide us with two experts, and with the experience we already have from the successful attempt to make Corfu a World Heritage Site, to help so that Odessa can also reach soon to the level of being included in the list of World Cultural Heritage Sites”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs met with officials of the Greek diaspora and with Greeks who left Mariupol and are in Odessa.
Then, he will be informed by the head of the Regional Military Administration of the Odesa Region about the wider situation.
Also, Nikos Dendias will be present at the signing of an Agreement with the State Archives of Odessa, where the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs will co-finance an effort to digitize the part of the archives related to the Greek presence here.
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