The new German ambassador to Greece, Andreas Kindle, expressed his personal desire to “further strengthen the excellent Greek-German relations and expand them in areas that deserve to be strengthened, such as joint efforts to deal with the consequences of climate change”. the greeting he addressed in Greek, English and German at the reception he organized on Tuesday evening to celebrate the Day of German Unity.

The new German ambassador to our country, who arrived in Athens with his wife two weeks ago and a week later presented the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou with his credentials, spoke of particularly close and strong bilateral ties and of relations that they developed and matured over the centuries.

During his greeting, he wanted to share his first impressions of Greece as the new ambassador of Germany. In particular, he mentioned that last Friday together with his family he attended the musical performance “Human Requiem” by Jochen Sandig and Sasha Waltz in the Cultural Capital of Europe, Elefsina. As he said, this performance is an excellent example of the multifaceted cultural relations between Greece and Germany. Continuing in the same spirit, he mentioned that in 2024 Germany will celebrate in Greece the 150th anniversary of the presence of the German Archaeological Institute in Athens.

He made special reference to his visit, together with his wife and youngest daughter, to the memorial ceremony in Ligiades, near Ioannina, which took place on Sunday. He pointed out that the national anniversary of Germany is celebrated on October 3, but 80 years ago the German National Socialist army brutally murdered more than 80 residents in the village of Ligiades. “We cannot close our eyes and ignore this chapter of our bilateral relations” he said and pledged to do everything to keep the memory alive. In fact, he asked for forgiveness from the families of the victims and underlined that he feels boundless gratitude towards the descendants of the victims for their magnanimity, for the fact that he was able to honor the memory of the Ligiades victims with them.

He also pointed out that on the way to Ligiades he had the opportunity to see the devastation caused by the recent floods and added that climate change, its devastating consequences and the need to strengthen resilience are important issues for bilateral and European cooperation .

In this context, he welcomed the initiative of the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou for the joint report on the climate crisis in the Mediterranean area and wished it a success.

At the same time, he assured the Ukrainian ambassador that Germany and Europe stand unwaveringly by Ukraine’s side in its fight against Russian aggression. “The war that Russia has been waging for almost 600 days in Europe against Ukraine is not only a flagrant violation of International Law, but also a serious threat to our freedom in Europe, which cannot be tolerated,” he added.

Finally, he confided that he always dreamed of the position of German ambassador in Greece. “I had visited Greece many times as a tourist. I am happy to be here as an ambassador” he noted.

It is noted that the ambassador together with his wife welcomed their distinguished guests in the gardens of the Byzantine Museum. The celebration began with the playing of the national anthems of Greece and Germany, and then followed the reception to the sounds of music by Sebastian Bach.

Among others, the former President of the Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the former Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Kotsiras and the Deputy Minister of National Defense Ioannis Kefalogiannis attended the celebration of German Unity in Athens.