BERLIN – Referring to her upcoming trip to Athens, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock talked about a visit to “one of our closest partners in Europe.”

Baerbock also stressed the importance she attaches to keeping alive the memory of the atrocities committed in the country by the forces of the Nazi occupation.

“I am visiting one of our closest partners in Europe. Both in support of Ukraine and the joint European response to the Russian attack, and in our determination to fight the climate crisis and to accelerate the development of renewable energy resources,” she said ahead of her visit to Pakistan, Greece and Turkey.

Referring to World War II, she underlined that many Germans are familiar with Greece following their unforgettable vacation in the country, but little is known about the extent of the atrocities committed by the Germans here during the Nazi occupation.

As a foreign minister, “it is important for me to keep the memory alive,” she added.

“Greece plays an important role in terms of security in the Mediterranean. At a time when the security order in Europe is fundamentally challenged by President Putin, we, as NATO allies and European partners, must be united. It is important to resolve the issues through talks and not through escalation of tension,” she said, noting that this would also be an important issue in her talks in Turkey, which she described as a “necessary” partner.

(ANA/ F. Karaviti)