(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)
President Reuven Rivlin was welcomed this morning, (Monday, 29 January 2018), on the first day of a State Visit to Greece at an official ceremony at the President’s Mansion in Athens, hosted by President and First Lady of Greece, Prokopis and Vlasia Pavlopoulos. The ceremony included the playing of both national anthems, after which both Presidents reviewed a guard of honor before delivering brief statements to the media.
“I thank you, Mr. President, for the wonderful hospitality we have received here,” began Preisdent Rivlin, “Our relationship is not only one set in the distant past. I came here today because of the strong friendship between Israel and Greece in the present. I came here to lay the foundations for even more fruitful cooperation in the future. Like the expanses of the sea, the cooperation between Israel and Greece has tremendous potential.” The President noted the strong cooperation in the fields of security and counter-terrorism, cyber-security, medical technology, and agritech, and expressed his hope to deepen the cooperation between Israel, Greece, and Cyprus, in the field of energy in general, and sustainable energy in particular.
The President added, “I want to express our appreciation for Greece's humanitarian struggle to offer immediate aid for the refugees of the civil war in Syria. In Israel, we treated thousands of those wounded in this ongoing war, despite Syria being an enemy state.”
The President noted the timing of the visit and said, “During the course of my visit, I will participate in events in Athens and also in Thessaloniki, to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We are full of appreciation to you Mr. President, and to the Prime Minister, for you initiative to establish a Holocaust museum in Greece, and we want to express the thanks of all mankind for your clear statement, Never Again. Never Again, is relevant not only to the victims but also to all nations where there was a problem of racism and anti-Semitism. It is essential today more than ever, to remember the lessons of the Holocaust, and the Jews of Greece who lost their lives. Only through education can we halt the rising wave of anti-Semitism and hatred.”
On UNESCO's decision regarding the status of Jerusalem, the President also added, “There is no one in the world who does not know Athens is the capital of Greece. No one in the world who does not know Rome is the capital of Italy, and not even UNESCO will convince anyone in the world that Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel.”
President Pavlopoulos said, “Mr. President, my dear friend, it is with great joy I welcome you to Athens, and repay the hospitality which I received in Israel. My visit to your state was not only an important moment in the ties between Greece and Israel, but also remains in my memory as an important moment, as I visited the Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum.”
He added, “Your visit to Greece takes place at a time when our ties are at a truly remarkable level, and over time these ties are becoming increasingly beneficial for our countries. This matter impacts the tripartite cooperation with Cyprus,” and went on to note, “We recognize the close relations and cooperation between Israel and the European Union, strategic ties both for Israel and the European Union. The State of Israel, both from a democratic and political orientation perspective, is much closer to the West and to the EU, and so we in Greece support Israel's close ties with the Council for EU-Israel Relations.”
The Presidents then went on to hold a working meeting during which they spoke of ways to advance negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the current situation in Gaza, and the Iran’s efforts in Lebanon and on Israel’s northern borders.
The President then went on to hold a working meeting with Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras. The Prime Minister received the President and welcomed him warmly on his first visit to Greece as President. The Prime Minister stressed this was a period of prosperity and expansion in the relations between Greece and Israel, and that the President’s visit was an opportunity to deepen these ties.
The President thanked the Prime Minister and stressed, “There is no doubt that we need regional strategic understanding, throughout the Middle East, and our relationship is central to this critical understanding.”
The two discussed the regional situation, with an emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the possibilities for renewing the talks. “The denial of the right of the State of Israel to exist is the main obstacle we face,” the President clarified. “We can talk about anything but if there are people on the other side who challenge our right to exist, we will not remain silent or stand idly by.”
The President stressed that more and more, elements in the region understood the power of cooperation with Israel, “even if historically we have not always managed to get along”. He added, “We are in a serious crisis of trust between us and the Palestinians and significant elements such as the Greek government can be a real force in influencing our neighbors, and persuading them to return to the negotiating table. We must learn to live together.”
The two went on to discuss bilateral relations and strengthening the existing partnerships between the two countries. They were due to meet tomorrow at the Holocaust Remembrance Day in Salonika.
Earlier, President Rivlin laid a wreath at the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier, outside the parliament building in Athens.
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