Relations between Greece and Serbia remain stable and undisturbed for nearly 150 years, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said after meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Tuesday.
At a joint press conference in Belgrade, Sakellaropoulou expressed Greece’s commitment to supporting Serbia’s and the Western Balkans’ European prospects, underlining that “my country, as is well-known, always believed that Serbia belonged to the European family,” and recognizing “the significant reform efforts [Serbia] assumes in this direction.”
The Greek president referred to the Ukraine war saying, “The unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continuing war reminds us once again in the cruellest way that peace cannot be not taken for granted. We must all fight for it by action, based on the principles and values of the UN Charter. Anachronistic revisionism and expansionism, whatever their source, are fully condemnable and have no place in 21st-century Europe.”
She also said Greec’s stance on Kosovo was consistent. Responding to a question by Serbian national television on whether Greece had been pressured to change its stance on the issue, Sakellaropoulou said it had, “but this has not affected it because Greece follows a consistent [foreign] policy.” Dialog between Belgrade and Pristina is crucial for peace and security of the region, she noted, underlining the need that all points agreed to in the dialog should be applied.
On his side, Vučić reiterated Serbia’s support of “the Greek Republic’s territorial integrity and sovereignty by land, sea, and air,” adding that this stance is based on the UN Charter and will not change.
While in Belgrade, Sakellaropoulou also met with Prime Minister Ana Brnabić and paid a visit to the National Assembly, where she spoke with its president Vladimir Orlić.
Sakellaropoulou’s schedule on Tuesday includes laying a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Hero, located on Mt. Avala Mountain in the region of Belgrade. On Wednesday she will visit Nebojsa Tower to lay a wreath at the statue of Greek revolutionary hero Rigas Feraios, who was killed there. The tower contains a monument and exhibition space devoted to the Greek and Balkan people’s war against Ottoman rule.
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