Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will participate on Wednesday in the international humanitarian conference in Gaza, which is being held at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. It should be noted that efforts are being made to create a maritime corridor for humanitarian aid to Gaza in which Greece and Cyprus could contribute.
The prospect of Greece participating, under conditions, in a maritime humanitarian corridor was mentioned by the Greek prime minister in an interview with Politico (which will be published in full on Thursday).
Mitsotakis said that a Greek plane landed in Egypt “delivering humanitarian aid and if we can explore the possibility of a sea corridor, which of course should be surrounded by the full security of all parties involved, in order to ensure that the specific ships will reach Gaza safely, we will.”
Government sources underlined the role Greece can play as a factor of stability in the region, focusing on a series of initiatives that are underway. Athens is carefully monitoring developments in the Middle East as a continuation of the crisis cannot be ruled out, while it remains to be seen how the Turkish President will proceed.
The government’s stance
Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis referred to the five-point plan submitted by the government in a greeting he addressed to the conference organized by think tank “Kyklos Ideon”. As he said, this plan includes the condemnation of all forms of terrorism, inhumane treatment, violence, the protection of civilians, security, which should be provided so that humanitarian aid can reach through humanitarian routes, the immediate release of hostages and the organization of an international conference, which will undertake to resolve the situation. It is recalled that Greece’s position on the need for a political solution to the Palestinian problem in the logic of the two states is stable.
Diplomatic initiatives
A series of diplomatic initiatives by Athens are underway. It is recalled that the Prime Minister participated about fifteen days ago in the Peace Summit in Cairo, then he visited Israel and there was also communication with the president of the Palestinian Authority. The latest developments in the Middle East and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip were also discussed on Monday in a phone conversation between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
