Minister of Foreign Affairs, N. Dendias’, statement following his meeting with his Lebanese counterpart, Nassif Hitti (Beirut, 19.02.2020)

Thank you, dear colleague.

It is a true pleasure to be in Beirut today and to meet you. May I wish you every success in carrying out your new duties.

I also had the honour to be received by the country’s President, the Speaker of Parliament and later on I will be received by the Prime Minister.

Lebanese – Greek relations are based upon solid foundations of friendship and mutual respect. This was confirmed today during my discussions and I am very happy for it.

We agreed to explore ways of further deepening our political, economic and cultural relations, both bilaterally, and in the context of our trilateral cooperation with Cyprus. This trilateral cooperation has produced positive results up to now.

I assured my interlocutors of Greece’s constructive role in further enhancing EU-Lebanon relations and I expressed our support for the reform agenda put forth by the new government of Lebanon.

Furthermore, we exchanged views on regional issues pertaining to our common neighbourhood, the Eastern Mediterranean- our Mare Nostrum, as my colleague said. We expressed our support for political solutions under the guidance of the UN, both in Libya and Syria.

Concerning Syria, I listened with great interest to the views of my Lebanese interlocutors. I expressed Greece’s appreciation for the impressive efforts by Lebanon in hosting and addressing the needs of the refugees.  This is an issue of great concern for both our countries, Greece being the country of first entry in Europe.

We also discussed the situation in Libya, which is of great concern to all countries. We believe that the cessation of hostilities and of foreign interference is of cardinal importance.

I had the opportunity to discuss with my colleague this Monday’s decision at the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council on a new operation aimed at ensuring the implementation of the arms embargo in Libya.

Greece, a pillar of stability in the Mediterranean, is ready to contribute to this with all means available and will support the efforts of the UN’s Special Representative, Ghassan Salamé, towards a political settlement to the Libyan conflict.

As regards the memoranda between Ankara and Mr. Sarraj, I reiterated our view, namely, that although they are null and void, outside of the scope of international law and produce no legal effects whatsoever, they fuel the civil war and constitute an attempt to acquire a foothold in Libya by foreign powers. Furthermore, they internationalize the conflict by violating the sovereign rights of Greece and thus they threaten peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.

And I have to say that, following my recent meetings with many of Greece’s Arab League partners, I get the feeling that Turkey’s efforts to expand its influence in the areas of the former Ottoman empire have raised concern and staunch opposition.

In closing, I would like to thank you, dear colleague, for your hospitality. We agreed, ladies and gentlemen, to remain in contact and continue exchanging views for the benefit of our peoples and of peace and stability in the region.