Statement by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Themistoklis Demiris, regarding the safe arrival in Greece of 18 Afghan citizens evacuated from Afghanistan (24.10.2021)

JOURNALIST: I would like you to tell us first about the way this whole operation was organized so that these people arrive in Greece, not only 18 of them, but 300 people in total, and who will be distributed in other countries, if I am not mistaken.

TH. DEMIRIS: Yes that is the goal. Overall, we started with the evacuation of 18 people and you should know it was a difficult operation requiring coordination with a lot of people for a long period of time. After two months we have succeeded. Indeed, we collaborated with various organizations, so this flight was made in cooperation with an organization that also brought in – in cooperation with the Greek Government – a group of women judges, MPs and journalists whom we wanted to transfer because their lives were in danger.

These 18 people of our interest were at the core of this operation from the beginning and we wish to thank all those who cooperated in an operation that required a lot of effort and especially coordination in order for these people to arrive safely.

All this time it was dangerous. Actions had to be taken to re-adjust to the ever-changing conditions. Fortunately, these people placed their trust in us from the beginning and arrived safely. Along with them arrived other people who also had to come because their lives were in danger.

We thank all those who cooperated, foreign governments, foreign organizations and from the Greek part mainly the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, with which we had a good cooperation that yielded the good result we had tonight.