Athens closely monitoring Middle East

Although his planned trip to the region was postponed due to the volatile security situation, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has reiterated Athens’ support for Israel’s right to self-defense, while also stressing that civilians must be protected. 

Athens supports this right, he said on Wednesday in an interview with Antenna TV, but noted that, as a democracy, Israel “has an obligation to respect international law and to react within the framework of the rules governing an armed conflict.” He also called for “reason and restraint to prevail,” stating that “revenge is not appropriate for organized states.” 

The Greek PM expressed his grief for the tragic attack on civilians in the Gaza hospital on Tuesday. “We don’t know who carried out the attack, I will not rush to draw a conclusion and this is also the European Union’s official position,” he said.

He also emphasized that Greece distinguishes the Hamas terrorist organization from the Palestinian people, recalling that Greece’s official stance in favor of a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue has never changed.

“We do not want the escalation, nor the provocation of the humanitarian crisis, while Greece is moving to strengthen its internal security and to the stricter guarding of its borders,” he added, saying there are no worrying signs of an increase in migration flows. However, he underlined that “the policy of strict, but fair border guarding” will continue.

Referring to his upcoming contacts, he said that these are possible as “no one in the Arab world is accusing Greece of unilateralism such that it excludes us from the discussions.”

“They recognize that we are a pillar of stability,” he said. 

Mitsotakis has been invited to Cairo by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to attend an international conference on Saturday on developments in the Middle East.

Heads of state and government from the countries of the region (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco), the leaders of France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Norway, the United States, Russia and China, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have been invited. This is, in short, an attempt to bring to the table the views of all, including those who openly oppose the West and the moderate (in the current situation) governments of the Arab world.

Mitsotakis also held talks on Wednesday with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.