Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis on Friday signed the country’s accession to the “Artemis Accords” space cooperation at the conclusion of a meeting in Washington with the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, within in the framework of the 5th US-Greece Strategic Dialogue.
During joint statements following the signing ceremony at the State Department, Gerapetritis underscored the importance of the US-Greece Strategic Dialogue, in addressing common challenges in a volatile geopolitical environment.
On his part, Blinken expressed his pleasure at hosting the fifth round of the specific framework and emphasized that Greece’s accession to the Artemis Accords marks a significant new step in the relationship between the two countries.
Blinken said bilateral relations were at the highest level they had ever been, adding this was reinforced during his visit to Athens last year for the previous Strategic Dialogue, as well as his recent meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Crete.
The Greek foreign minister referred to climate change, migration and pandemics, which directly affected the lives of billions of people, while he also touched upon the instability caused by various regional conflicts, from Ukraine to the South Caucasus, and from Gaza to the Red Sea and the Sahel region, which he said, undermine international security and threaten the lives of innocent civilians.
He stressed that Greece possessed significant diplomatic capital, serving as a pillar of security in the Eastern Mediterranean promoting multilateralism, as one of the oldest members of the EU and NATO.
The head of Greek diplomacy said that respect for International Law, especially the Law of the Sea was imperative while urging for the resumption of talks for a sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue, in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
On the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, the Greek minister, who thanked his US counterpart for his “tireless efforts” to prevent an escalation, said Greece was in a position to play a constructive role as a mediator to prevent a spillover of the war in neighboring countries and the deterioration of the humanitarian crisis thanks to its relations with both Israel and the Arab states.
Regarding Ukraine, he said, “Next week, in cooperation with the European Investment Bank, we are hosting an International Conference on the country’s reconstruction.”
Gerapetritis also addressed the climate crisis, emphasizing that in April Athens would host the 9th Our Ocean Conference, which according to the minister “will focus on the protection of the marine environment.”
