Greece remains dedicated to International Law and a foreign policy of principles and rules, and “is at the disposal of the United Nations,” Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis said after meeting UN Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres in New York.
Following his meeting with Guterres, Gerapetritis added that “this is something the Secretary-General values, and (he) consistently anticipates our collaboration.”
The minister noted that during his meeting with the UN chief, they exchanged views on all urgent matters and ongoing major crises globally. “Regrettably, we currently find ourselves in a standstill situation in the Middle East, Ukraine, Haiti, and Sub-Saharan Africa,” Gerapetritis stated. The UN has a key role to carry out, he added, and “we may potentially need to look at the process by which decisions are made that should be fast and effective.” These decisions must be convincing in terms of integrity and of accountability for those who violate International Law, he added.
He also said that he discussed the Cyprus issue with Guterres, and he welcomed the appointment of a personal envoy appointed by the UN secretary-general for Cyprus. “The opportunity for dialogue regarding the Cyprus matter between Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community is significant,” he stated, adding that “the opportunity must be utilised by both sides” for talks. “Greece will exhaust all options so that we may have positive developments on the Cyprus issue,” Gerapetritis underlined.
