It is essential to support Ukraine, FM Gerapetritis says, arriving at NATO meeting

He also referred to his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, saying they had discussed issues that concerned NATO and bilateral relations between Greece and Turkiye

BRUSSELS (ANA/ E. Zarkadoula) It is essential that Ukraine is supported as the values on which NATO and the global security architecture have been founded are now at stake, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said on Thursday as he arrived for the second day of a NATO ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

He also referred to his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, saying they had discussed issues that concerned NATO and bilateral relations between Greece and Turkiye, in light of a meeting between the Turkish president and Greek prime minister in Turkiye next month.

The minister made the following statement on his arrival:

“Today is the 75th anniversary since the foundation of NATO. An alliance that, over the course of history, has proved extremely important for global security and peace. This anniversary, however, comes at at time when there are, unfortunately, major hostilities underway that create significant insecurity on the world stage. Particularly, the issue of Ukraine is a huge problem, which must be immediately handled. All the member-states must assess their ability to offer assistance to Ukraine, especially during the present phase, when Russia’s aggression is tending to maximise.

“For this reason, I had a meeting on Wednesday in person with the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, to assess the possibilities there are to give substantial, useful and effective assistance to Ukraine. It is extremely important to support Ukraine because, at this time, what is at stake are the fundamental values on which not just NATO but the global security architecture were based, in other words the faithful implementation of international law, confidence that sovereignty and territorial integrity will be respected and the fight against any revisionist tendency.

“I also had the opportunity yesterday to have a meeting with my Turkish counterpart, with whom we discussed issues on the NATO agenda and issues that concern relations between the two countries, especially in light of the meetings that the two leaders will have next month in Turkiye.”