[InTime News]
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has described France’s active engagement in developments in the East Mediterranean as “very important”, while expressing confidence that a regional partnership involving Greece, France, Cyprus and Lebanon will continue as “our interests in the wider region fully align.”
“It is very important that France is actively engaged in developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and that the strategic relationship – deeply rooted in history – between France and Lebanon now also includes Cyprus and Greece, two countries that serve as pillars of stability in the East Mediterranean,” Mitsotakis said.
The Greek leader commented following a meeting in Paris on Friday with the presidents of France, Cyprus and Lebanon – Emmanuel Macron, Nikos Christodoulides and Joseph Aoun, respectively – as well as, via video conference, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Discussions at the Elysee Palace meeting focused on current developments in the East Mediterranean and the Middle East, with particular emphasis on security, migration, interconnectivity, and energy issues.
A support plan for Lebanon and its new government was included on the agenda, the Greek prime minister said.
“A stable Lebanon serves as a barrier to refugee flows into Europe and can play a stabilizing rather than a destabilizing role in the broader Middle East,” he said.