Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis met on Sunday in Damascus with the interim President, Ahmad Al Sharaa, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Asaad Al Shaibani.
The Greek minister is one of the first foreign ministers of a European Union member state to visit Syria, a country with which Greece maintains historical ties, as well as long-standing political, economic and cultural relations.
According to diplomatic sources, during the meeting, Gerapetritis reiterated Greece’s support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.
The need for a smooth political transition towards an inclusive government was also highlighted, the same sources said, from which no ethnic and religious community should be excluded. He stressed that the Syrian people should have exclusive ownership of this process, without external interference.
He also stressed Greece’s strong interest in the Christian community of Syria.
During his meetings with the transitional president and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria, Gerapetritis also underlined the importance of respecting and adhering to International Law, including the International Law of the Sea.
Finally, he stressed Greece’s desire to play an active role in the new situation taking shape in Syria, both bilaterally and through the European Union and the UN, and set as a priority the need to build trust between the two countries.
The Greek Foreign Minister – according to diplomatic sources – underlined that Greece aspires to fully utilize its status as a member of the UN Security Council, and stressed that it is in its interest to take initiatives to promote stability and prosperity in the region.
As an EU member state in Syria’s wider neighborhood, he stressed the pivotal importance of the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean and underlined that Greece maintains strong ties with the Arab world, while at the same time being a reliable interlocutor of all countries in the region. Finally, Gerapetritis expressed Greece’s readiness to provide humanitarian and development assistance to Syria, as well as to offer its expertise in institution-building in the country.
