Greek Ambassador to Syria: "I received guarantees for the safety of Christians"

In addition to the Greek ambassador, the Italian and Romanian ambassadors have stayed behind.

Greek Ambassador to Syria said that he had received security guarantees for Greeks and Christians in the Arab country.

"At least for Damascus but also more broadly, the situation is slowly returning to normal. Today, for example, the banks have opened. There is no information about incidents or looting that we had on the first day," Ambassador Nikos Protonotarios told ERT.

"The new authorities... Let's put it this way, the rebels, including various groups that have occupied Damascus, have begun to give some guarantees for minorities and, mainly for the Christian minority, that interests us, and the Greek diaspora and community.

"As they did in Aleppo, where life is going on normally, they have made an effort to show that they respect religious freedom and that there will be no negative treatment."

The ambassador added, "In other words, there will be not only acts of retaliation and there is also information that they will be able to dress normally. Clothing will not be with headscarves, nor will it be an Iran-type situation. They will respect, let's say, the cultural origins and habits of the Christian minorities."

As for whether he had any contact with the rebels and possibly with the leader of the rebels, Protonotarios stated, "I had contact with someone. From what it seems, the rebels want to also talk to foreign embassies.

"There is, of course, the issue that they are recognised as a terrorist organisation. Therefore, formally, we cannot negotiate with them.

"We must admit that they are in charge now. They have taken over power. They have taken over security. Therefore, we must have a conversation with them.

"I am not saying to negotiate, but at least to ensure our stay here and the security of the embassy and the diaspora. We must hear with our own ears what their intentions are”.

As for whether he received any guarantees about their intentions: "Look, we do not know who is who at the moment. There is some, let’s say, point of contact with whom we are talking at the moment.

"However, we expect to have contacts at a higher level, probably at the level of the political director of the rebels. All of this is up in the air now, and I am also waiting for the instructions of my Ministry."

"About two hundred Greeks are in Damascus. While in Syria, in general, there are about 700,000 Christians," the Greek ambassador pointed out.

Regarding whether there are requests for repatriation to Greece, he emphasised, "We had requests from Aleppo, which decreased considerably, this number fell to 16."

"And now in Damascus, you understand that the situation is very fluid, and in the last 24 hours, we have received requests for about 40 people," he concluded.

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