FM sends message with visit to Holy Mountain
[AMNA/Foreign Ministry Press Office]
The two-day visit of Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias to Mount Athos, home to the oldest surviving monastic community in the world, which ends on Thursday, is seen as a message and a reflection of Greece’s presence in the Orthodox world.
Dendias’ visit came at a time of severe geopolitical turmoil in parts of the Orthodox world (Ukraine and the Balkans) and aims to reaffirm that Athens remains an active supporter of the Athonite State in a difficult period.
Mount Athos is a place where Russian influence is traditionally strong, a place which is a field of competition in the field of soft power, a fact which has been repeatedly highlighted in the past. Dendias is the first Greek FM to visit Athos since the summer of 2011.
