“The international community must aim to ensure the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, as all of these are expressed in the Security Council resolution,” said Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in his opening statement at the start of the informal meeting (retreat) for Syria that starts today in Athens, while he underlined that “these are also the basic principles of Greece’s foreign policy».

As he recalled Mr. Dendiasthe war in Syria has led to the tragic loss of countless human lives and the dramatic increase in refugee and migration 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“, pointed out.

He emphasized that Greece “as a country in the immediate neighborhood with very close historical ties to the Syrian people, including the Christian local communities, we have felt the effects firsthand.” In this context, he added, Greece is trying to help in every possible way in the humanitarian sector and through supporting the efforts of the United Nations, in coordination with partners in the European Union, but also through supporting the protection of religious minorities and of cultural heritage.

Greece also, Mr. Dendias emphasized, strongly supports in this spirit the efforts of the special envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Syria, Geir Pedersen. The foreign minister also pointed out that “the deterioration of relations with Russia has highlighted the importance of the Arab countries for Europe’s energy and food security. Therefore, cooperation with regional players becomes an important priority for Greece, but we also believe for the European Union».

“Since the beginning of the conflict, we have witnessed serious violations of international human rights law and international law in general.”, noted Mr. Dendias and underlined the need to protect the civilian population. Mr. Dendias noted that the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on February 6 caused great suffering, while he recalled that Greece offered help to both countries.

But he underlined the need to send aid to Syria carefully, in accordance with the decisions of the United Nations Security Council.

“For our part, we have been working for a long time to create a security architecture in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean“, pointed out Mr. Dendias and added:

“Architecture firmly grounded in international law and the principle of good neighborliness, where everyone is invited to cooperate with us as long as they are bound by these principles». Greece, he emphasized, 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, as well as Israel.

“These cooperation mechanisms offer significant added value for our societies, for our environment, for our economies».

“As the European Union, we bear a particular responsibility for stability in the Middle East, our immediate neighbourhood“, noted the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“My country is determined to take the lead in further initiatives to promote cooperation between the European Union and the Arab world. And of course, by all means aiming to achieve our common goal, peace in Syria».