I had an extensive meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, my friend Sameh Shoukry.
First of all, I conveyed the Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ warm and cordial greetings to President Sisi. Beyond that, we discussed the crisis in Ukraine, the very serious problems posed by the food crisis that is emerging as a result of the energy crisis.
We discussed the way it also affects the Egyptian economy. As you know, Greece has a huge interest in the stability and progress of Egypt, which it considers to be one of its most important, strategic allies.
We had an in-depth discussion on Libya, on the situation created there by the presence of two prime ministers, Mr. Dbeibeh and Mr. Bashagha, and how we can coordinate our actions so that elections in Libya are eventually held.
We discussed the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, the need for legality and International Law, the International Law of the Sea, to prevail. Mr. Shoukry was also kind enough to brief me on the talks he had at the Negev Desert meeting, which, as you know, was attended by the US Secretary of State, Mr. Blinken.
I expressed my gratitude for Egypt’s support to Greece in the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and we agreed that Greece will appoint a Special Envoy, who will be able to address the issues that Turkey raises within this organization, in cooperation with friendly countries such as Egypt, which clearly discern Turkey’s motives behind the draft resolutions it submits.
I also congratulated him on Egypt’s Presidency of the Climate Change Conference. Greece will participate in every way. As you know, although we are a conservative government, we are also a green government. Environmental issues are of paramount importance to the Mitsotakis government.
JOURNALIST: Minister, you referred to this Conference, which took place in the Negev Desert with the participation of six Foreign Ministers, including Mr. Blinken. We see that the crisis in Ukraine is also affecting developments in the wider region. Does this lead to an adjustment of Greek foreign policy goals in this region?
N. DENDIAS: Look, the Greek goals are always consistent and they are ultimate goals: stability, security, respect for the independence and territorial integrity of states. But I do not hide the fact that a major international crisis, such as the one caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leads to the need to review tactics many times and reconsider various issues. This is happening now. Nevertheless, I would like to reiterate that Greek foreign policy is a foreign policy guided by principles. We will continue to uphold and stand for these principles.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic