“We must do everything possible so that to have an immediate cessation of hostilities and to prevent the diffusion of the crisis, the regional conflagration and the chain effects of the war, primarily at the humanitarian levelbut also in the global economy, which is suffering due to the tension in the Red Sea and the insecurity in international navigation”, underlined the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis in his statements after the meeting with the Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib.

“Today, the war in Gaza and the tragic humanitarian disaster they shock us and make us face our responsibilities”, he emphasized.

With regard to the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, he pointed out that Greece maintained a position of principle from the first moment.

Humanitarian aid, he underlined, “must be strengthened and channeled through sustainable routes that will allow the unhindered flow of the necessary humanitarian aid, as well as the restoration of basic infrastructure, such as water and electricity networks.”

And of course, he added, it is equally important to protect the safety of members of humanitarian aid missions, people who risk their lives every day for a higher moral purpose.

“The scenes we all experienced with attacks on the missions of the humanitarian organizations were beyond all logic” he emphasized and pointed out:

“We are doing everything necessary to achieve a sustainable solution. And this sustainable solution can only come through the resolution of the Palestinian issue within the framework of the resolutions of the UN Security Council on the creation of two states.”

Mr Gerapetritis stated that Greece has communication and political dialogue with all sides, with all interested parties in the Middle East, the Gulf and Africa. “This enables us to provide good services to the two chapters of the Middle East: humanitarian aid to alleviate the major humanitarian crisis and also to be part of a meaningful discussion on the next day of the Palestinian issue,” he noted.

“We are in contact with the Israeli side, with which Greece maintains a strategic relationship and has the opportunity to be informed about the situation,” he said.

He noted that Greece is aware of the fact that today Israeli hostages are in a situation that is unacceptable and contrary to any concept of international law, but added that “what we seek is an immediate cessation of hostilities to give a real, substantial chance to peace.”

“We look forward to today and tomorrow of our relations both with Israel and with the other countries of the wider region,” he said.

“Greece will always remain at the level of principles in the exercise of foreign policy, we are with international law, we are opposed to any notion of revisionism and we will continue to strive for the consolidation of peace and the well-being of the peoples”, he underlined.

Greece, as noted by Mr. Gerapetritis, has always attached special importance to the sovereignty and stability of Lebanon and supports its international efforts to strengthen Lebanon, its stability and prosperity. “We prove it in practice, with the weight we give to UNIFIL, the peacekeeping mission of the United Nations.”

“However, we also support any initiative aimed at de-escalation on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel,” he added. “Greece’s position is that there should be immediate peace in the region and full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”

He also pointed out that Greece recognizes the disproportionate burden that Lebanon assumes, in relation to its territory and population, in terms of managing the immigration issue, mainly of Syrian refugees, and makes every effort to effectively control the trafficking rings that they exploit and degrade human worth.

“Greece is at the disposal of the friendly country of Lebanon to contribute to the understanding of its views in the EU and in international forums”.

He also expressed his particular satisfaction for the Greece-Lebanon cooperation in the framework of regional and international organizations and for the extremely constructive tripartite cooperation between Greece-Cyprus and Lebanon.

He also added that the bilateral cooperation of the two countries extends to areas such as education, with an emblematic example of the program of learning Greek and supporting theological studies at the Theological School “Saint John of Damascus” at the Balamand University of Lebanon, economy, trade and energy’s.

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry: The mother of all problems in the Middle East comes from the fact that the state of Palestine was not created

The relations between Greece and Lebanon “start thousands of years ago and the development of the Mediterranean was contemporary with the development of these peoples together with other peoples”, said Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib and emphasized the religious relations that link the two peoples.

“A lot more is happening today between Lebanon and Greece, the Middle East and Europe. When one sneezes the other catches a cold. We must have very good relations”, he underlined.

Greece, as he mentioned, can help Lebanon to achieve stability on the border with Israel. Right now, he noted, “we have about 92,000 displaced Lebanese and a similar number of Palestinians.”

“Some form of ceasefire is needed and Greece can help us. Athens is in the right place to play this role.”

On the refugee issue, he noted that Lebanon has 2.2 million Syrians in a country of 5 million and half a million Palestinians. “Lebanon faces a delicate religious balance,” he said.

“The situation in Lebanon and Jordan from an economic point of view is not good. You also had economic problems and we did not learn from your own experience,” he pointed out and added: “You will see a flow of refugees, they are not political refugees, but economic migrants.”

He underlined that “the mother of all problems in the Middle East comes from the fact that the state of Palestine was not created, it is very important for all of us in the region”.

Referring to the meeting between the president of Cyprus and the prime minister of Lebanon that took place yesterday, the Lebanese foreign minister pointed out that it was “excellent” and the two sides agreed on a number of issues.

“Decisions must be resolved at the EU level”, he noted and concluded that the good cooperation between Greece-Cyprus and Lebanon must continue.