We unequivocally condemn the abduction of over 200 Assyrian Christians, mostly women, children and elderly, by groups of the “Islamic Caliphate” terrorist organization in the Al-Hasaka region, and we ask for their immediate release.
We express our solidarity with the people of Syria and all of those regions suffering under the irrational and fanatical regime imposed by the “Islamic State,” through murders, executions and abductions of populations based solely on the religion or ethnic origin of its victims.
Greece will continue to firmly support human rights and religious freedoms and will not cease its efforts, on a European and international level, towards the protection of all of the religious and ethnic communities of the Middle East and North Africa that are threatened by religious intolerance and fanaticism.
It was in this context that Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias recently presented his initiative for protection of the Christian communities in the Middle East and North Africa; an initiative that has already gained the support of France, Italy, Holland and Cyprus.
February 26, 2015