Greece’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias announced on Tuesday evening (local time) that he will be accompanying a humanitarian mission to Mariupol.
The decision was made after his one-on-one meeting with the Greek Consul General in Mariupol, Manolis Androulakis, who returned to Greece on Sunday.
“I am requesting today in an official note sent to the Ukrainian side that it facilitate and another note to the Russian side not to hinder the sending of humanitarian aid to Mariupol. I intend to accompany this mission in person, in coordination with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Mauer, with whom we are already in contact,” Mr Dendias said.
“Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine continues unabated. The priority of the Greek government is the protection of our expatriates, but also of the civilian population.”
Another mission with a coordination and a reception group will be organised in Bucharest, Romania, headed by Fragiskos Kostelenos. Greece’s Ambassador to Bucharest, Sofia Grammata as well as Odessa’s Consul General Dimitris Dochtsis will take part in the new mission. Mr Androulakis, will also return to Ukraine with the group in order to help evacuate more civilians.
“Greece will continue to be present in the region. In an area where the Greek element has been established for centuries,” Dendias stressed, adding that “the first step, when things return to normal, will be the reconstruction of the maternity hospital of Mariupol. And beyond that, our coordination with the EU to do what we can to return it to its previous state and to facilitate our expatriates to return to normalcy after the tragedy”.
