Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ statement to journalists during his visit to Paris (Paris, 22.02.2022)

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias’ statement to journalists during his visit to Paris (Paris, 22.02.2022)JOURNALIST: Minister, in a short while the Foreign Affairs Council is convening for an extraordinary session regarding developments in Ukraine. What is the position of Greece?

N. DENDIAS: First of all, the Government Council on Foreign and Defence Affairs (KYSEA) was convened this morning, under Prime Minister K. Mitsotakis, precisely to discuss the situation in Ukraine, as well as the energy issue. Beyond that, we have fundamental and clear priorities. Firstly, it is a matter of principle. Greece stands for the territorial integrity of all countries, in accordance with the United Nations Charter and universal principles and values.

However, there is another issue that is of concern to us: the protection of the Greek minority living on both sides of the line of contact, a large minority numbering 150,000 people.

So, I am going to raise the issue again, like I did yesterday, in the light of new developments in the region.

JOURNALIST: You also had a bilateral meeting here in Paris, on the sidelines of the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

N. DENDIAS: My meetings with Minister of External Affairs of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar, are always of particular importance for us. We consider India to be a rising power with an important role to play, not only in the Indo-Pacific region, but also at the global level. In addition, it is a country that shares the fundamental principles of Greek foreign policy with regard to International Law and the Law of the Sea. So, in view of my visit to India in March, it was a great pleasure to meet him again and discuss international issues and recent developments in Ukraine.