Visit to Shushi Accepted After Six Rejections: Greek Foreign Ministry Clarification

The Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has addressed the reasons behind the visit of the Greek ambassador to the territory of Shushi, which has been occupied by Azerbaijan. This was reported by Infoteka24.

"As is known, Greece maintains excellent, historical, and friendly relations with Armenia. In difficult times for Armenia, Greece has stood by it and the Armenian people. I visited Yerevan on October 16, 2020, when military operations were still ongoing in Nagorno-Karabakh, conveying a message of solidarity through my visit. In response to a request directed to our country and coordinated by our Foreign Ministry, Greece conducted two humanitarian missions (medical supplies and food) on December 12, 2020, and January 8, 2021, thereby providing tangible support and solidarity.

At the same time, as is known, Greece has maintained diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan since 1992. After a crisis in bilateral relations, the Greek ambassador returned to Baku in the fall of 2020, where, based on his obligations, he closely monitors local events. Moreover, within the context of Greece's capabilities as an EU member state, our embassy in Baku coordinates its activities with partners. For this reason, the decision of our ambassador to accept the invitation from the country's Foreign Ministry, which has been accepted by the majority of European embassies, cannot be interpreted in any case as recognition of the positions or actions of the host party, let alone participation in events, rather, celebrations.

This visit took place in the context of the need for coordination and observation among the embassies of EU member states, and for transferring accurate information to the ministry. We always remain by your side, in the context of our close cooperation," reads the letter from the Greek Foreign Minister.