Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias made the following statement in the UN Security Council’s Maintenance of International Peace and Security Open Debate on “Settlement of conflicts in the Middle East and countering terrorist threats in the region”:
Mr. President,
I would like to start by thanking my colleague Sergey Lavrov for chairing this very important discussion.
The issues we are addressing in this debate are very intertwined with each other and have precipitated the migration and refugee crisis:
They have driven hundreds of thousands of people from the region, creating new pressures on the societies and economies of countries neighbouring on and far beyond the region itself.
Greece, which is situated at the crossroads of the refugee crisis, is also particularly concerned about the fate of the minority communities in Iraq and the region, including Christian communities, which – after two millennia in the region – are facing an existential threat due to the atrocities of ISIS.
It is clear that the threat posed by ISIS continues to undermine the stability and political dynamics of Iraq and Syria, leaving the security situation in the region very volatile.
But for some time it has been equally clear that, through the “foreign fighters” phenomenon and the migrant/refugee crisis, waves of instability are being felt much further afield, on a global scale.
Thus, the crucial issue for the international community is to implement a consistent, determined and multifaceted strategy for countering ISIS.
The horrendous tactics ISIS is implementing are uniting regional states, including many with divergent interests.
And this is truly a key element in our common endeavor to defeat ISIS: A determined stance on the part of all actors.
But ISIS cannot be defeated by military means alone.
We also have to address the financing of the jihadist organizations as well as their recruitment tactics, including the use of the Internet and Social Media.
Last but not least, it is crucial for the international community to work collectively and in unity in order to reach the long-overdue solution to the Syrian crisis through the immediate initiation of an inclusive political process.
The war needs to stop. There needs to be a grand alliance of peace; an alliance for the reconstruction of Syria. And we must return to the youth of Syria and of the Arab world as a whole the right to dream and to lead a different life. Otherwise – without that dream or those prospects – they will not fight for peace and reconstruction in Syria.
Thank you Mr. President
September 30, 2015