Venizelos offers Palestinian leadership support to peace process

The Greek Presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2014 will contribute to supporting the peace process in the Middle East, government vice president and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki during a meeting the two men had in Ramallah on Wednesday.

Al-Malki expressed his hope that the Greek EU Presidency will be “a catalyst in creating a better climate.”

Venizelos traveled to Ramallah after the end of an official visit to Israel, as part of a large government mission headed by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, and also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abass and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

Following the end of his meeting with al-Malki, Venizelos told reporters that a Greece-Israel bilateral agreement was not counter to the historically close and amicable relations with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority.

“Besides, for us, such bilateral ties (with Israel) also envisage participation of the Palestinian Authority, even during this sensitive period of negotiations.”

On a bilateral level, there was agreement on the immediate setting up of a joint ministerial committee “to examine on practical level issues pertaining to tourism, culture, sports, investments and development”. It was also agreed to establish a joint Greek-Palestinian Business Council to enable the presence of Greece’s business activity in the region, at a time when growth is expected to be high.