Athens is on alert for the Ukrainian crisis
The secret meeting that took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as soon as Nikos Dendias landed in Athens, concerned the next day about the Ukrainian crisis and the manipulations that must be done both at the diplomatic level and with the help of the Greek expatriates in Ukraine.
Measures that you must see were examined at this meeting, while there was also a teleconference with our ambassador at Kiev and with our consuls in Mariupol and Odessa.
The biggest problem is how our compatriots will leave once the interior is closed and there are no commercial flights.
At the same time it can not fly military planes in the single space of Ukraine since Greece will have to respect the decisions of the allies as Ukraine is not a member of the NATO.
So the options that Athens is currently considering are the transfer of the expatriates is to be done by road with great care and a lot of preparation since the Russians have almost surrounded Ukraine. The choice to have a military transfer of the expatriates through special flights is not yet on the “table” due to the aggression of the forces.
What is certain is that an evacuation plan has been prepared for Greek citizens, as well as the holders of the special identity card of expatriates, and according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about 100 of our compatriots have contacted the authorities. However, the situation is so fluid that, in fact, Greek diplomacy is forced to adapt the design to ground conditions.
However, the mobility is also intense diplomatic field. The Greek side called on the Russian ambassador – with a second step in a few days – in order to emphasize that the protection of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of all states is a sacred Gospel and a cornerstone of Greek foreign policy.
The director of the diplomatic office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the Russian side to proceed immediately to the cessation of hostilities, which, among other things, endanger the lives of civilians, including the Greek community.
A little while later, Nikos Dendias had a telephone conversation with the American ambassador in order to have coordination with the American side. The fact that the Jeffrey Peat He has been ambassador to Kiev until 2016, which means that he has excellent knowledge of the origin and Athens takes his assessments seriously.
After the extraordinary summit on Friday, which will be held by an extraordinary council of foreign ministers and an extraordinary NATO teleconference.
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