I am here today, in Mariupol, a few kilometers from the contact line, which is known to be the main area of tension between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, in order to support with my presence, upon instruction from Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek Community living here; a community numbering over 100,000 people. Behind me you can see the building of the Federation of Greek Communities of Ukraine.
I also had the opportunity today to speak by telephone with my friend, my counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, to whom I reiterated Greece’s firm position. Greece, out of principle, always supports the independence and territorial integrity of all states, in accordance with the principles of International Law and the United Nations Charter. I would like to express the hope that the tension which currently exists will not continue, that the situation will return to calm and de-escalation.
In any case, however, I stated to the Federation of Greek Communities and its representatives that the Hellenic Republic, the Mitsotakis government, the Prime Minister, will stand by their side and will support them.
January 31, 2022