FM Gerapetritis: Greece can become a bridge between North-South, East-West in the UN

Greece is a country firmly based on the idea of International Law as a landmark that allows the world to move ahead and peace to prevail among countries and states, Greek Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis said on Tuesday.

In an address at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) in New York, Gerapetritis analyzed Greece’s priorities if it wins a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in a vote to be held on Thursday (June 6).

In a world of multiple global challenges, Greece can play the role of a bridge, he said, running on the motto of 3Ds: Dialog, Diplomacy, and Democracy. “We truly must reexamine the whole idea of a peaceful resolution of differences, which is in reality enshrined in the UN Charter. We are very willing to develop a new idea on the compliance to International Law, and to exert some pressure on the United Nations. It is true that the United Nations and other international organizations basically had to deal with several concurrent crises,” the Greek FM said.

Referring to the global challenges in terms of wars and climate change, Gerapetritis said that “it will be a difficult yet more demanding period, but we very much look forward to that” if voted on the Security Council.

Referring to Greece’s role as a bridge, the FM said that Greece lies in a region that has seen a lot of conflict, in the junction of three continents – Europe, Asia, and Africa – and also lies within the Balkan peninsula, which has seen a lot of conflicts in the past.

“I believe it is important for a country like Greece to try and become a bridge for many nations, many countries. Our hope, if elected to the Security Council, is that we become the synthesis of the South and North, of the West and the East. We can do it, because Greece has the privilege of speaking with all its neighboring nations.”