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D. AVRAMOPOULOS: Today,
I had the pleasure and honour to meet again with the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority, and a good friend of mine,
Mr. Riad Al Malki.
Greeks and Palestinians are two
neighbouring peoples with very strong and deep historic ties and our
relations are based on mutual respect, reliance solidarity and
friendship.
Mr. Al Malki and I were given the opportunity to discuss about political and military issues which interest the wider region of the Middle East and of the South-eastern Europe. It is a region which, at present, deals with violent turmoils and armed conflicts.
Therefore, it is more than ever necessary for the peace process between Palestine and Israel to result as soon as possible in a permanent and fair solution, guaranteed by the International Community.
A region that currently needs our active involvement, more than ever. Greece is a peaceful country and it always renders services in the issue of peace, security, good neighbourly relations and stability.
Mr. Al Malki and I were given the opportunity to discuss about political and military issues which interest the wider region of the Middle East and of the South-eastern Europe. It is a region which, at present, deals with violent turmoils and armed conflicts.
Therefore, it is more than ever necessary for the peace process between Palestine and Israel to result as soon as possible in a permanent and fair solution, guaranteed by the International Community.
A region that currently needs our active involvement, more than ever. Greece is a peaceful country and it always renders services in the issue of peace, security, good neighbourly relations and stability.
We seek for a solution that will
provide for the creation of a Palestinian state, which will be
independent and member of the UN, in the context of a peaceful
coexistence with Israel.
This was also our country’s position which I myself had the responsibility to support in November 2012 in New York, for the recognition of Palestine to the status of observer in the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Greece, not only as a friendly country to the Palestinian people, but also as the country that has assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is always ready to take the necessary initiatives to reinforce the peace process.
Apart from the rivalries of the past, which have made us all mature and wiser, we must follow the path of cooperation, understanding and peaceful coexistence.
It is only through this process that we will achieve growth, progress for our peoples, financial prosperity and social justice. We will succeed into making this corner of our planet a haven of security and peace, into a good example for the coexistence between peoples and nations; and, all this, away from extremism, fanaticism and religious extremities.
I would like to welcome once more Mr. Al Malki in Athens and thank him for the excellent cooperation we had.
I would also like to thank him again, yet with a small delay, for the warm welcome he had offered me during the visit I had paid with my past capacity to Palestine, a year ago. I thank him and invite him to take the floor.
R. AL MALKI: (informal translation) Thank you very much Dimitris. For me it is a very important moment to be here in Athens and to meet with a good friend.
A friend with whom I collaborated during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, so as to develop and improve, to widen and strengthen our bilateral relations. He is also a friend during the tenure of which, Greece voted in favour of Palestine’s admission as a non-member state in the UN.
Therefore in Palestine, we always feel indebted to you for your work, your commitment towards peace in our region and your personal involvement to see that such conflict should reach its end, where justice should prevail and a Palestinian state should be there, equal to the state of Israel, and a part of the two-state solution.
Your personal political commitment is highly valued and appreciated by all of us. I felt that my need to be here today was in order to continue with you the course that we started for the coordination and the cooperation that we have really developed over the years.
We had an excellent opportunity today to exchange views and to discuss matters related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the last efforts being really made by Secretary Kerry to see a possible agreement that will allow us to move into the right direction, towards signing a peace agreement, if that is possible.
And so, I had the opportunity to praise his contribution to these developments at political level, and also in terms of the discussion related to security matters. His opinion, discussions and advice have been highly valued by me and by my colleagues and I will continue calling on his advice in the near future, because we do believe that having such a friend, a person who understands, who is willing to commit himself and to work towards achieving peace in that region is really worth keeping.
Therefore, I appreciate very much such an opportunity and I hope that we will have further opportunities to meet soon, in order really to see that our vision will be fulfilled.
Thank you very much.
This was also our country’s position which I myself had the responsibility to support in November 2012 in New York, for the recognition of Palestine to the status of observer in the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Greece, not only as a friendly country to the Palestinian people, but also as the country that has assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is always ready to take the necessary initiatives to reinforce the peace process.
Apart from the rivalries of the past, which have made us all mature and wiser, we must follow the path of cooperation, understanding and peaceful coexistence.
It is only through this process that we will achieve growth, progress for our peoples, financial prosperity and social justice. We will succeed into making this corner of our planet a haven of security and peace, into a good example for the coexistence between peoples and nations; and, all this, away from extremism, fanaticism and religious extremities.
I would like to welcome once more Mr. Al Malki in Athens and thank him for the excellent cooperation we had.
I would also like to thank him again, yet with a small delay, for the warm welcome he had offered me during the visit I had paid with my past capacity to Palestine, a year ago. I thank him and invite him to take the floor.
R. AL MALKI: (informal translation) Thank you very much Dimitris. For me it is a very important moment to be here in Athens and to meet with a good friend.
A friend with whom I collaborated during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, so as to develop and improve, to widen and strengthen our bilateral relations. He is also a friend during the tenure of which, Greece voted in favour of Palestine’s admission as a non-member state in the UN.
Therefore in Palestine, we always feel indebted to you for your work, your commitment towards peace in our region and your personal involvement to see that such conflict should reach its end, where justice should prevail and a Palestinian state should be there, equal to the state of Israel, and a part of the two-state solution.
Your personal political commitment is highly valued and appreciated by all of us. I felt that my need to be here today was in order to continue with you the course that we started for the coordination and the cooperation that we have really developed over the years.
We had an excellent opportunity today to exchange views and to discuss matters related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the last efforts being really made by Secretary Kerry to see a possible agreement that will allow us to move into the right direction, towards signing a peace agreement, if that is possible.
And so, I had the opportunity to praise his contribution to these developments at political level, and also in terms of the discussion related to security matters. His opinion, discussions and advice have been highly valued by me and by my colleagues and I will continue calling on his advice in the near future, because we do believe that having such a friend, a person who understands, who is willing to commit himself and to work towards achieving peace in that region is really worth keeping.
Therefore, I appreciate very much such an opportunity and I hope that we will have further opportunities to meet soon, in order really to see that our vision will be fulfilled.
Thank you very much.
mod.mil.gr
7/2/14
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