EU Foreign Ministers Council in Brussels on Monday – Ukraine and the Sahel in focus

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, will travel tomorrow, Monday, February 21, 2022, to Brussels, where he will participate in the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of the European Union (EU).

In the morning, an exchange of views will take place between the EU Foreign Ministers and the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.

Next, the EU Foreign Ministers are expected to discuss the issues on the FAC agenda, which are the security situation in Europe and Belarus, Climate Diplomacy and the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The term “Current Affairs” is expected to include the examination of recent international developments, including those in Mali (Sahel).

Ministers will also participate in the “CYCLES” cyber security exercise. The discussion in the SEU – in a simulation environment – is the last stage of this exercise.

Finally, on the sidelines of the FAC, EU Foreign Ministers will meet with their counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.

In the meantime, today Mr. Dendias addressed the panel on “Politics and International Relations” organized by the Greek community of LSE in the framework of the Conference “Greece 2022: Semper Ad Meliora”.

“Greece, despite the immediate challenges it faces, will continue to play its stabilizing role and be a security factor, a reliable ally and partner, implementing a foreign policy, which is permanently based on the Principles of International Law,” he stressed. He added that in this context, she is also promoting her candidacy for the election to the UN Security Council for the period 2025-26.

According to Mr. Dendias, Greece and the international community face a number of challenges, from the need to address the pandemic and its complex consequences, the efforts for a gradual return to economic normalcy, but also the resurgence of tensions and the emergence of new sources of potential armed conflicts.

“In this climate of uncertainty and constant change, Greek foreign policy has not remained inactive, a mere observer of developments,” he said.

“It has expanded its scope and further strengthened its alliances and partnerships in its immediate neighborhood, in Europe, the Middle East, the Balkans, and the rest of the world, building relationships with new partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America “, he noted and added:

“Always on the basis of fundamental principles, such as International Law and especially the Law of the Sea. At the same time, it promotes the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, beginning with the prohibition of the use or threat of violence. ”

“Unfortunately, however, a country in our immediate neighborhood continues to ignore these basic rules,” he said.

Mr. Dendias, as a graduate of LSE, himself stated that the initiatives undertaken by the Greek community contribute greatly to the better understanding, by the academic community, of issues of Greek interest.

“In addition, you act as a bridge of interaction and strengthening of relations between young scientists from the United Kingdom and Greece. “For this highly successful contribution of yours, I congratulate you,” he concluded.