Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received today at the Maximou Mansion the Consul General of Greece in Mariupolis, Manolis Androulakis, who was the last diplomat of a European Union member state to remain in the bombed city, in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions.
During the meeting, the situation in Mariupol and the community of Greek origin in the area was discussed, while the Consul General referred to his experiences in the devastated city.
They also discussed plans for the Greek contribution to the reconstruction of Mariupolis after the end of the war and for the support of the Greek community. It is noted that the Consulate General of Greece in Odessa has already begun to reopen.
The whole dialogue
The following dialogue took place at the beginning of the meeting:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I am very happy to have the opportunity to meet you in person and to congratulate you for your truly exemplary behaviour in the hell of Mariupol. It is very important that we managed to keep our diplomatic representation in the tried and tested city until the very last moment and I believe that you handled this whole unprecedented situation with responsibility, with dignity, with seriousness, but also with the necessary emotional empathy. So again, congratulations.
I would like to hear then about your experiences of what you have experienced, so that we can start to think a little bit positively about the future. How we will be able to participate actively in the reconstruction of the city when the hostilities are over and the end of this Russian invasion, which has been so testing for all of us, but first and foremost for the inhabitants of the city that was the most attacked and in which, because of the strong presence of a Greek element for many centuries, we obviously have a special interest.
Manolis Androulakis: I thank you very much for your personal interest, especially for our Consulate in Mariupol. A great effort has been made to do our work as well as possible. At one point it was too difficult to do it because of the circumstances and a great effort was started, somehow, as quickly as possible, to get people out of there and to get the Consulate out of there because now things are too difficult.
It was an effort that was handled by the General, Mr Demiris, and I can say that the phone call you made to the Ukrainian President also set in motion a process that was «the beginning of the end» for our exit from the city. I would also like to thank you for the phone call you made to me when we were safe, in western Ukraine, and to say that - as I mentioned to you - we took a clear stance on the issue, and I think that was appreciated in Ukraine. And the announcements that you made and the planning to revitalise that region, in whatever way, I think is in the right direction. And I think that will also be duly appreciated.
The meeting was attended by Andreas Katsaniotis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Hellenes Abroad, Themistocles Demiris, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Anna-Maria Bura, Ambassador for European Affairs at the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister.
