Gerapetritis: Aid must flow into Gaza unimpeded
It is imperative to “halt hostilities and immediately put an end to the bloodshed and allow humanitarian aid to flow unimpeded into Gaza,” Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis has said, after meeting with this Canadian counterpart in Athens.
Speaking alongside Mélanie Joly, Gerapetritis pointed out that a humanitarian catastrophe was underway in the Middle East, while there was great concern about a spillover and the destabilising impact of the war.
“Greece is making a productive contribution to solving the problem, participating in the peace processes, bilaterally but also through the European Union and the UN, for a solution within the framework of the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, for a solution for the establishment of the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, having the pre-1967 borders,” he pointed out.
Describing Gaza as “the worst place to be in the world,” Joly said it needs all kinds of help.
She said that three days earlier, she was in Cyprus to check on the progress of the humanitarian corridor and stressed the need to help Gaza.
Stressing that “the message is clear,” she said the bloodshed must stop, that a ceasefire is needed now, that the hostages must be released and Hamas must hand over its weapons, allowing humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza. The creation of the Palestinian state cannot be delayed any longer, she concluded.
Gerapetritis noted that the close cooperation between Greece and Canada was sealed with the purchase by Greece of seven Canadair aircraft, which will be used for forest firefighting.
“Climate change is relentless,” he noted while expressing Greece’s solidarity with western Canada following the fires there. [AMNA]
