“Greece’s respect for international law is non-negotiable and is the only answer to those that attempt to overthrow the existing security framework through revisionism or the use of violence,” stated Alternate Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis from New York, during his meeting with the President of UN Security Council for the month of March, Lana Zeki Nusseibeh.
Their discussion was held on Thursday, the day that the UN Security Council had again urgently convened to discuss Ukraine, and was held online because Nusseibeh had been diagnosed with Covid-19.
Varvitsiotis’s point
Varvitsiotis said that Greece had condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the start, as well as any and all attempts by authoritarian leaders to revise history and redraw national borders.
In the same context, he added, Greece responds to Turkish provocativeness by referring to international legality and the treaties it has signed, such as UNCLOS, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“International law is a prerequisite for the peaceful co-existence of peoples and the consolidation of security in the region of Eastern Mediterranean,” he stated. Varvitsiotis also raised the issue of the ethnic Greeks in Mariupol, in which Greece is very interested, and expressed his concern over their safety. Finally, he informed the President of Greece’s candidacy for a seat on the UN Security Council, as a non-permanent member for the period 2025-2026.
Consul General in Mariupol, Manolis Androulakis, continuing his journey, diplomatic sources say
The Consul General in Mariupol, Manolis Androulakis, is well and will leave shortly in order to continue his journey, according to diplomatic sources on Friday.
The same sources underlined that reports saying he was being held hostage “are the definition of lying”.
“The foreign ministry is in constant contact with him and, fortunately, everything is going well,” they pointed out.
On Thursday, Androulakis stayed near Uman. The operation to evacuate the consul general, as well as local staff of the OSCE mission and their family members, from Mariupol started on Tuesday, March 15, and has been heading west. The operation is taking place in close coordination with the OSCE.