Below is Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos’ statement on the awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW):
“Today’s awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize is a political reward par excellence for the work of the OPCW and its member states, among which is Greece.
The OPCW’s receiving the prize constitutes a significant contribution to the consolidation of peace in the world and recognition of the efforts to eliminate the use of chemical weapons, not just as an obsolete practice, but also as being in total contravention of international rules and humanitarian law.
Greece systematically supports the efforts for peace to prevail. It actively contributes to the international initiatives towards disarmament and the containment of the proliferation of weapons, and lends practical assistance to the OPCW’s work.
In this context, Greece considers it to be of great importance that the OPCW was awarded the Nobel Prize, which points up the value of the peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for international law, both of which are fundamental principles of Greek foreign policy.
Greece congratulates the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on its receiving the Nobel Prize and on its substantial contribution to the efforts to destroy Syria’s chemical arsenal.”
December 10, 2013