By Gifts Antoniou

The negotiation between Athens and Cairo for the Sinai Monastery will eventually be upgraded, following the new facts formed by the court ruling on the ownership of facilities and areas of the monastery’s surroundings.

Foreign MinisterGeorge Gerapetritis, he goes to the Egyptian capital, head of the Egyptian capital, who will undertake the discussion, processing, negotiation, on the agreement that had been reached between the two sides, but was never signed, with the result that the debate equals.

The Greek side is called upon to manage the strong possibility of discussions in Cairo to invoke the judicial decision, which in essence recognizes only the right to use the monastery’s facilities in the monastic Sinai community.

The fact that discussions will be upgraded demonstrates the seriousness of the situation. Reportedly, the initial planning, which the discussions wanted to take place at the service level, predicted that he would travel from Athens today, Monday, a delegation led by the Secretary of the Ministry of Education, George Kalantzis. It was also expected today to travel to Egypt by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulos, who would take over the political part of the debate with the Egyptian side. Eventually, the planning changed, with information indicating that Cairo’s desire was to make the talks at a more upgraded level, but Athens also estimated that this way the issue would close faster and the pending will not be extended.

The Greek side comes to the debate, having said that it is waiting for the agreed to be observed. In the agreement in which the two sides had reached, they were recognized ownership of the monastery. In Article 3, Article 3 states that: “The Parties agree that, according to the registration of the Monastery of St. Catherine in the World Heritage List, the Monastery, its buildings, its plots, churches and related buildings referring to the attached and signed document by the parties.” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a communication last Friday with Egyptian President al -Sisi stressed, inter alia, that “it is important to maintain the Greek Orthodox and pilgrimage of the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai”.

However, it did not go unnoticed that the Egyptian Presidency announced that “Communication emphasized Egypt’s steadfast commitment to maintain the unique and sacred religious regime of St. Catherine’s Monastery, ensuring that this regime remains untouched. This commitment is reinforced by the recent court ruling, which is aligned with the devotion of Egypt to the sanctity of religious and ecclesiastical spaces and confirms the unique heritage, spiritual and religious position of St. Catherine’s Monastery.“

That is, the court ruling is already in the debate. It remains to be seen in what form and in what intensity it will be at the negotiation table on Wednesday.