Dendias: Greece ready to respond to any security challenge

Greece is committed to international law but at the same time remains ready to respond to any challenge to its national security, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said during a meeting with representatives of the country’s parliamentary parties on Tuesday.

Dendias also referred to his recent visit to the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is home to 120,000 diaspora Greeks, which took place amid a Russian military buildup near Ukraine.

Dendias said that Greece will support the ethnic Greek community, which he said faces inadequate healthcare and living conditions, while affirming the country’s support for the independence and territorial integrity of all states. 

Blinken letter

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has, according to diplomatic sources, thanked Greece for its contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and its successor Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan.

In a letter to his Greek counterpart Dendias, Blinken acknowledges the role of the approximately 3,300 army officers who served in the two missions, the sources said.

In the same letter, Blinken affirms Greece’s role as a steady US ally, expressing his confidence that cooperation between the two NATO allies will continue in the future based on their shared values, the sources said.