WASHINGTON – Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias held “a cordial phone call” with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday evening in order to discuss the situation in Ukraine, according to a foreign ministry tweet.

During the discussion, Blinken “conveyed his condolences for the death of Diaspora Greeks and FM Dendias thanked him for his statements regarding the Greek sovereignty over Aegean Sea islands,” the tweet said.

A US state department announcement said the two ministers “condemned Russia’s premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. The Secretary thanked Greece for its steadfast support of Ukraine and of U.S., NATO, and EU efforts to hold Russia accountable for its actions. The Secretary and Foreign Minister Dendias also condemned Russia’s attacks on civilian targets, and the Secretary expressed his condolences for ethnic Greeks killed in Russia’s brutal assault on Mariupol.”