Images coming from Gaza trouble Athens: Greek foreign minister

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Greece is troubled by images coming from the besieged Gaza Strip, the site of over a month of Israeli airstrikes and ground operations, according to the Greek foreign minister.

Athens condemns Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli civilians but it also acknowledges that Israeli attacks on Gaza have gone beyond its legitimate right to self-defense, George Gerapetritis said on Tuesday in a speech at Circle of Ideas think tank conference in Athens, said a Foreign Ministry statement.

“We should recognize Israel's right to self-defense within the limits of international law, the limits imposed by the principle of proportionality,” he said, adding: “Of course, there is the right to self-defense, but how this right is exercised matters.”

He added that Athens insists “on the basic solution adopted by the UN Security Council, the two-state solution within the territorial boundaries of 1967, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State.”

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas over a month ago.

At least 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women, have been killed since then. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.

- Relations with Türkiye

On relations with its Aegean neighbor Türkiye, he said: “We all understand that we don't have to be identical in everything, but we have to talk.”

Reiterating that international law, Greek national interests, and sovereignty are the major principles that will inform Athens’ position in talks with Türkiye, Gerapetritis pointed to an ongoing improvement in bilateral relations since February.

He added: “Peace and prosperity are not, in my view, promoted by inaction. Peace and prosperity are promoted by good judgment and bravery in the decisions you make.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis affirmed the "positive climate" in relations during a meeting in New York this September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The leaders confirmed the roadmap and timeline of bilateral contacts as agreed at an earlier meeting of foreign ministers in Ankara, including a Supreme Cooperation Council meeting set for Dec. 7 in Thessaloniki.