Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan instructed the Foreign Ministers to investigate the ground on whether there are favorable conditions for to initiate discussions regarding the delimitation of the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zonethe foreign minister said, George Gerapetritisin his statements from New York.

“It is necessary today, more than ever, when we are in a region that is beset by constant geopolitical risks and in the midst of two wars, that there should be relations of understanding and good neighborliness,” the foreign minister pointed out.

Evaluating the Mitsotakis-Erdogan meeting, Mr. Gerapetritis noted that “matters of mutual interest were discussed. First of all, the good cooperation, which exists in important matters concerning the two countries, was confirmed. The need for further cooperation on immigration was highlighted, which is always a major thorn in the wider region and especially today, given the fact that the situation is extremely fragile in the region, both in the Middle East and in Africa.”

As Mr. Gerapetritis said, issues were discussed, which concern the further cooperation of the two countries, the Cyprus issue, which is currently in the development phase. “We expect”, added the Greek Foreign Minister, “that the discussions will be restarted in the context of the decisions of the Security Council and, of course, the schedule for the next moves was discussed”.

At the same time, Mr. Gerapetritis had bilateral meetingscritical bilateral meetings with my Egyptian counterpart, with which, in addition to confirming the strategic relationship between Greece and Egypt, the question of how we could creatively come to help the situation, in order to limit the wave of hostilities, was highlighted.

Plus, he had a meeting with the Lebanese Foreign Minister as the country is currently at the center of all hostilities, while at the same time he also referred to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, specifically, the Greek-flagged tanker “Sounion” that was hit.

“Unfortunately, it is completely disappointing to see the death toll in Lebanon and the fact that it has now become the focus of hostilities. In addition, I met with my Yemeni counterpart, precisely because that country is of particular importance for freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. Unfortunately, a Greek-owned ship was attacked by Houthi rebels. There was an immediate risk of a large environmental burden. With an initiative taken by the Aspides mission, led by Greece, the ship has been withdrawn to safe waters and the oil is expected to be drained immediately, so that there is no ecological disaster.

In the next two years, Greece will be a member of the United Nations Security Council. Elected member almost unanimously by all states of the United Nations. In this context, we will make every effort so that the idea of ​​the peaceful settlement of disputes, the cessation of hostilities, the enforcement of respect for human rights and the limitation of bloodshed are restored, as envisaged in the Charter of the United Nations. consequences of all wars” pointed out the minister.

The program of the minister of foreign affairs

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis, will today hold meetings with the Secretary General of the Arab League, as well as with the Commissioner General of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East). The focus of these contacts will be the war in Gaza and the crisis in the Middle East.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs will participate in the Prime Minister’s meeting with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Gerapetritis will then hold a meeting with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for children and armed conflicts.

In the context of the work of the General Assembly and in Greece’s capacity as an elected member of the Security Council for the two years 2025-2026, Mr. Gerapetritis will meet with the Foreign Minister of China (permanent member of the Security Council). This will be followed by a meeting between Mr Gerapetritis and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India.

The Foreign Minister will hold separate bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Ethiopia, Panama and Serbia.

He will also meet with the leadership of the American-Jewish organization American Jewish Committee.

Finally, Mr. Gerapetritis will participate in the meeting of the G7 group on the reconstruction of Ukraine.