Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis’ statements following his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan, Ayman Al Safadi (Amman, 04.02.2025)

Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis’ statements following his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan, Ayman Al Safadi (Amman, 04.02.2025)

It is a great honor and pleasure to be today in Amman.

Your Excellency, Minister Ayman Al Safadi, thank you for your warm welcome and hospitality in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

You always make me feel at home and I really appreciate this.

I am here to discuss the recent developments in the Middle East and our historic and growing bilateral ties. Our bilateral relations are indeed excellent. We are committed to further enhancing our cooperation in various fields, such as in economy, trade, tourism, defence, energy and culture.

We are also dedicated to our Trilateral Cooperation Framework between Greece, Cyprus, and Jordan, which represents a significant achievement in our relations.

And I would especially like to point out that Jordan serves as a stabilizing factor in the region, and I often say that we share the vision of living in a secure and stable area, free from wars, aggressions, rivalries and disputes.

I would like to underline Mr. Ayman Al Safadi’s personal involvement in this task, because it is important to have a vision. And the Minister has a very strong vision. Obviously, much depends on the visit of the King of Jordan to the United States, on the 11th. We agreed that the ties between our nations should be further enhanced in favour of worldwide stability.

Our partnership is even more important ahead of the day after in the Middle East. In this context, we need to jointly promote regional integration and economic and energy projects, while also ensuring sustainable stability for the benefit of all in the Middle East.

The ceasefire agreements in Gaza and Lebanon, along with the recent developments in Syria following the fall of the Assad regime, present a significantly different picture from what we had observed during our last meeting in Athens.

The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza and the hostage release agreement can be a turning point and a positive step toward achieving enduring stability in the Middle East.

Our immediate priority should be for humanitarian aid to flow unhindered and in larger amounts into all parts of Gaza to ease the suffering of the civilians.

To this end, we welcome the re-opening of the Rafah Border Crossing and the reactivation of the “EUBAM Rafah” Mission.

Greece has strongly advocated for increasing the flow of humanitarian aid, supporting UNRWA, and delivering aid through the Jordanian project on the air-bridge.

We are honored to contribute to the ongoing Jordanian operation sending relief assistance to Gaza via helicopters.

It has been our initiative and it is my personal commitment to host injured Palestinian children in Greek hospitals.

We have already started receiving. I think this is absolutely important to show solidarity, especially to young children that are suffering.

Any scenario that could lead to turmoil and further uncertainty, including population displacement from Gaza or the West Bank, should be prevented.

Our priority should be to make Gaza a livable area.

We need to urgently start planning for the reconstruction of Gaza, restoring essential facilities and infrastructure and enabling the people to live peacefully in their homeland.

Furthermore, launching a wider political process would result in a Palestinian state. The two-state solution should be the eventual vision for all of us, while fully guaranteeing the security of Israel.

This is the prerequisite for long-term stability in the region.

As I emphasized to the Palestinian Prime Minister yesterday, Greece has undertaken a leading role in the EU to provide the support and expertise needed to financially and institutionally strengthen the Palestinian Authority.

It is important that we provide further legitimacy to the Palestinian Authority in order for it to be able to represent the Palestinian people, without any reference to terrorism, and in an effective government.

Jordan is a pillar of stability for this region. It was also among the countries more significantly impacted by regional crises and hosts millions of Palestinian and Syrian refugees. It is important the we maintain this stability in Jordan.

Greece will make sure either within the EU or within the United Nations that this is materialized.

We strongly advocate, within the EU, the provision of economic support to Jordan, as Amman is our indispensable partner.

We supported the signing of the Joint Declaration on a “Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership” between the European Union and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on January 29.

As for Syria, the situation remains volatile. Our primary concern is to ensure Syria's stability and reconstruction. This is no simple task.

It is essential to safeguard Syria's unity, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, which is currently in a transitional situation. We insist this transition must be smooth and inclusive, with all religious and ethnic groups in its future, in the spirit of the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, free from foreign interference.

All Syrian voices should be heard. The new system of governance must be based on legitimacy and strict respect for International Law, including the International Law of the Sea.

I want to express Greece’s deep appreciation for Jordan's stance as Custodian of Muslim and Christian Holy Sites in Jerusalem. Jordan actively and beneficially contributes to preserving multiculturalism and religious tolerance in a critical region.

Your Excellency, my dear friend,

As a member of the UN Security Council you can rely on us.

Let's unite our forces and move the wheel for stability and security in our broader region.

We are like-minded and we will remain so.

Thank you very much.

February 4, 2025