The Greek Defense Minister, Nikos Dendias is reportedly drawing attention to the need for protecting Christians in Syria and the broader Middle East, raising the issue during multiple meetings with all foreign officials, both abroad and during their visits to Greece.
This was the case during his recent visit to the United States—and in meetings at the ministry with ambassadors of foreign states in Athens, according to Greek “To Vima”.
It is worth recalling the Greek Defense Minister’s remarks on this matter in his interview with To Vima tis Kyriakis:
“Our country must uphold another priority, which I would like to reiterate. As Greece and as the European Union, we have a significant obligation to protect Christian populations in Syria and the Middle East. We also have a duty to safeguard Christianity’s religious monuments, particularly those of Orthodox Christianity in the region. We cannot simply wash our hands of this or assume it is someone else’s responsibility—whatever that may imply. These issues must be on our agenda. These monuments reflect a cultural presence spanning millennia. Most of them are not just 100, 200, or 300 years old. It would be a tragedy for them to be lost in our time.”
Notably, the Greek Defense Minister had also raised this issue of the protection of Christians in Syria and the wider Middle East region with the ambassadors of EU member states in Athens during a working breakfast on December 9, 2024, shortly after the fall of the Assad regime.
