Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday referred directly to the explosive situation in the Mideast while at the same time sharply condemning Iran’s recent and – essentially ineffective – missile and drone attack against Israel, in statements before attending a special European Council meeting in Brussels.
According to a released agenda, the EU Council meeting will discuss developments in the war-torn Ukraine, EU-Turkey relations, the Union’s competitiveness and, of course, the situation in the Middle East, but with a special emphasis this time on Lebanon.
The Greek leader said the “unequivocal condemnation” of Iran’s attack will be accompanied by a call for all EU member-states to do whatever in their power to defuse the crisis and prevent it from erupting into a regional conflict.
He also said the situation in Lebanon will be discussed by EU leaders, noting that the hard-pressed country is surrounded by conflict and facing serious problems. As such, he reminded that Cyprus is now faced with heightened flows of migrants and refugees trying to reach its shores from Syria and Lebanon.
“We support efforts of the Republic of Cyprus to stop these flows. At the same time, however, we’re also offering Lebanon the support it needs, so that this country, which has experienced a a great deal, can finally stabilize,” he said.