The Consul General of Greece in Mariupol, Manoli Androulaki, received today at the Maximos Palace the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Mr. Androulakis was the last diplomat from a European Union member state to remain in the bombed-out city, in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions.
During the meeting, the situation in which Mariupol and the community of Greek origin located in the area, while the Consul General referred to his experiences in the devastated city.
The plan for the Greek contribution to the reconstruction of Mariupol after the end of the war and for the strengthening of the Greek community was also discussed. It is noted that the Consulate General of Greece in Odessa has already started reopening.
The following dialogue took place at the beginning of the meeting:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I am very happy to have the opportunity to meet you up close and to congratulate you for your truly exemplary behavior in the hell of Mariupol. It is very important that we managed to keep our diplomatic representation in the tried and tested city until the last moment and I believe that you handled all this unprecedented situation with responsibility, with dignity, with seriousness, but also with the necessary emotional empathy. So again warm congratulations.
I would then like to hear your experiences from what you have experienced, so that we can begin to think a little more positively about the future. How will we be able to take an active part in the reconstruction of the city, when the hostilities are over and the Russian invasion is coming to an end? attack and for which, due to the strong presence of the Greek element for many centuries, we obviously have a special interest.
Manolis Androulakis: I would like to thank you very much for your personal interest, especially for our Consulate in Mariupol. A great effort was made to do our job as well as possible. From a moment on it was very difficult to do due to the circumstances and a great effort started, somehow, as soon as possible, to get people out of there and leave the Consulate because now things are very difficult.
It was an effort handled by the General, Mr. Demiris, and I can say that the phone call you made to the Ukrainian President set in motion a process which was “the beginning of the end” for our exit from the city. .
Let me also thank you for the phone call you made to me when we were safe in western Ukraine, and to say that – as I told you – we took a clear stand on the issue and that I think was appreciated in Ukraine.
And the announcements you made and the planning to revitalize this area, in any way, I think are in the right direction. And I think that will be duly appreciated.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of Hellenes Abroad Andreas Katsaniotis, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Themistoklis Demiris and the person in charge of European Affairs at the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Anna-Maria Boura
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