Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias following his contacts at the 76th UN General Assembly (Athens, 27.09.2021)

Last week I travelled to New York for the proceedings of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations.

During my stay there, I accompanied Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in his contacts with his counterparts from other countries, as well as in his meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations.

I also had several official meetings, 17 in total, but also many informal ones, as well as trilateral and multilateral meetings.

First of all, with traditional friends and allies. Cyprus, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Armenia and Serbia. But also, with countries with which Greece does not maintain traditional relations.

From Africa: Algeria, The Gambia, Gabon, Rwanda, Ghana and Angola.
From Latin America: Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico.

From Asia: the Maldives, with the President of the UN General Assembly and Minister of Foreign Affairs of this country, as well with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan.

I also met with the Secretary-Generals of the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The purpose of all these meetings is to open new channels of communication with countries that have a role in international affairs, both in the Security Council and on the world stage.

In fact, with some countries, such as Angola, The Gambia, Gabon, Ghana and Rwanda there have never been contacts between our Foreign Ministers before.

These contacts are also part of our broader strategy. Several of the countries whose Ministers I met are members of the United Nations Security Council.

Since last June, I have met with my counterparts from 12 out of 15 countries that are non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

I also met with the Foreign Ministers of countries that play an important role in regional organizations such as the International Organization of the Francophonie, of which Greece has become a full member and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, in which Greece participates as an associate observer since last July.

Through recent contacts, we aim to connect Greece with other regional organizations, such as SICA, which concerns the countries of Central America, and in which, incidentally, Turkey has already been given observer status.

I would like to remind you that Greece is a candidate for non-permanent membership in the Security Council for the 2025-2026 term. And all these contacts were an attempt to support our candidacy. It is extremely important that the voice of our country is heard within the UN Security Council.
However, in order to achieve this, our country should, mutatis mutandis, broaden its horizons.
I would like to say that in my contacts I did not talk about Turkey only. I had extensive discussions on climate change and the migration/refugee issue, especially in light of developments in Afghanistan, and also on the role of women in world peace and security, on freedom of navigation and freedom of the press.

In this context, I plan, in the coming months, to visit many countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania, as well as in Latin America.

I have also met - as is known - privately with the US Under Secretary of State, Ms Victoria Nuland. We discussed my next visit to Washington on October 14, the Greece-US Strategic Dialogue and of course, as you can understand, the Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement (MDCA).

I also had the opportunity to hold talks with other officials; with the President of Germany, with the Chancellor of Austria, with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, with the Swedish and Romanian Foreign Ministers and with NATO Secretary General.

I also had the opportunity to discuss extensively with the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Le Drian, whom I will be happy to see again tomorrow, in the context of my visit to Paris, where I will participate in the bilateral contacts of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

I pointed out to all my interlocutors that Turkey's conduct defies all logic. However, I stressed that Greece responds to any act of provocation with prudence and in full respect for International Law, especially the International Law of the Sea.

I reiterated that Greece wishes to maintain channels of communication with Turkey, but always within the framework of International Law.

It was encouraging that I received clear messages of support, but also of understanding, even from the most skeptical partners. Of course, this effort will continue, building on the relations we have already developed, but also forging new ties.

Greece needs to move beyond the stereotype of a Balkan, Turkey-centric provincialism in its Foreign Policy.

We must spread our wings to the new reality.

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