Foreign Ministry spokesperson Konstantinos Koutras made the following statement in response to a question by Xinhua News Agency regarding the evacuation of Chinese nationals from Libya via a Greek naval vessel (4 August 2014)

“The evacuation of 79 Chinese nationals from Libya last week via a Greek naval vessel was yet another indication - following the recent visits to Greece by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping - of the very strong ties between Greece and China and of the strategic partnership that we are continuing to develop.

As in the successful evacuation of 2011, the Greek merchant fleet, escorted by Greek warships, if needed, is again at China’s disposal for the evacuation of any of its citizens who are endangered by the current developments in Libya.”

August 4, 2014