The Greek position on the dramatic developments in Middle East repeated the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, recently attending the Summit of European leaders in Brussels.

Mr. Mitsotakis characterized the moment as extremely critical and reiterated that Greece’s position is based on 4 central points.

“Firstly, Israel has the right to lawful self-defense always in accordance with international humanitarian law. It received a terrorist attack of unprecedented ferocity and obviously has an obligation to react to protect the safety of its citizens.

Secondly we attach great importance to the humanitarian crisis which has today manifested itself in the Gaza Strip and for this reason I consider it absolutely imperative to open the humanitarian route and since this is necessary there should also be a humanitarian pause so that the civilians are also protected and to grant them the necessary supplies to those who today are crushed in the millstones of this conflict, And to protect as many human lives as possible”, noted the prime minister.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis also announced that later in the afternoon he will have a telephone conversation with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and insisted that Athens firmly supports the two-state solution in the Middle East. “I will not tire of saying that Hamas is a terrorist organization and does not express the just demands of the Palestinian people.

Third our point of obligation is to ensure that this conflict does not escalate to uncontrollable proportions and affect the Middle East.

The quarter point is that Greece remains steadfastly committed to a two-state solution to deal with the Palestinian problem. Only a political solution will be able to create conditions of long-term calm in the wider region. In fact, I will have the opportunity this afternoon to talk by phone with President Abbas and convey to him the ridiculous positions of Greek foreign policy”, stressed the Prime Minister.

With reference to the revision of the Multiannual Fiscal Framework, Kyriakos Mitsotakis insisted that Greece comes to this discussion with crystallized positions and which are perfectly coordinated with the proposal of the European Commission. “We are absolutely positive that 50 billion will be disbursed to support Ukraine, but at the same time we are urgently asking for increased resources for migration. Greece is a country of first reception and needs more European support to deal with the immigration problem, but at the same time to increase the resources for the EU Solidarity Fund”, noted Mr. Mitsotakis.

In fact, the prime minister recalled that our country was tested this summer by natural disasters and it is absolutely clear that a boost to the budget will be needed to finance this particular fund.

Finally, Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not miss the opportunity to refer to yesterday’s meeting European Central Bankers, hosted in Greece: “Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to the European central banker and to present the very important progress that has been made over the years, I also had the opportunity to talk about the investment grade it has achieved and about the the fact that everyone recognizes this huge effort of Greece to escape from the difficult years and become a champion in European development. This effort is not the effort of one government alone, it is an overall effort of the Greek people and as such it was also welcomed by Mrs. Lagarde and this gives us strength to be able to continue with even greater speed the reforms, so as to converge even faster with the European family, to improve the disposable income of Greek citizens so that we can all look to the future with more optimism.

The following is the full statement of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis:

“The European Council is being held at an extremely critical moment for the developments in the wider Middle East. Greece’s position, which will be reflected even today, is very clear and can be summarized in four central points.

First, Israel has the right to legitimate self-defense, always in accordance with International and Humanitarian Law. It received a terrorist attack of unprecedented ferocity and obviously has an obligation to react to protect the safety of its citizens.

Secondly, we attach very great importance to the humanitarian crisis which, today, has manifested itself in the Gaza Strip. And that is why I consider it absolutely imperative that humanitarian corridors be opened and, if this is necessary, that there be a “humanitarian pause”, so that civilians can be protected, that the necessary supplies can reach those who are currently crushed in the millstones of this conflict and to be able to protect as many human lives as possible.

I will not tire of saying it, Hamas is a terrorist organization and does not express the just demands of the Palestinian people.

Third point: it is our obligation to ensure that this conflict does not escalate into uncontrollable proportions and affect the Middle East.

Fourth point: Greece remains steadfastly committed to a two-state solution to address the Palestinian problem. Only, in the end, a political solution will be able to create conditions of long-term peace in the wider region. In fact, this afternoon, I will have the opportunity to speak with President Abbas by phone and convey to him the standing positions of Greek foreign policy.

Now, in addition to the issues of the Middle East, we will also be concerned at the beginning of our session with the review of the European Union’s budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework. Greece comes to this discussion with crystallized positions, which are perfectly coordinated with the proposal of the European Commission.

We are absolutely positive that 50 billion will be disbursed to support Ukraine, but at the same time we are calling for increased resources for migration. Greece is a country of first reception and needs more European support to deal with the immigration problem. But at the same time the resources for the Solidarity Fund of the European Union should be increased. Greece was tested by natural disasters this summer and it is absolutely clear that the European Union has not allocated sufficient resources to be able to support countries affected by the climate crisis. That is why a budget boost will be needed to finance this Fund.

Finally, I want to make a special mention of the meeting of the European central bankers which took place in Greece. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to the European central bankers and present the very important progress that Greece has made over the years.

Let me talk about the level of investment we achieved and about the fact that everyone recognizes this huge effort of the country to escape from the difficult years and become a champion in European development.

This effort is not the effort of one government alone. It is a total effort of the Greek people, so it was also welcomed by Ms. Lagarde. And this gives us strength to be able to continue with even greater speed the necessary reforms, in order to converge even faster with the European Union, to improve the disposable income of Greek citizens, so that we can all, all and all Greeks look the future with more optimism”