ΑΤΗΕΝS — Foreign ministry spokesperson Alexandros Papaioannou on Thursday said that Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will continue the intensive round of bilateral meetings in 2021, as in 2020.

Next week on Wednesday, January 13, Dendias will be in Rome for a meeting with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio and afterwards he will go to Lisbon, in order to meet with his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva.

On Thursday, January 14, the Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani will be in Athens and will meet with Nikos Dendias and afterwards with Alternate Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis.

The two ministers will co-sign three memoranda, one concerning cooperation between Enterprise Greece and the equivalent agency in North Macedonia, another regarding civil protection issues and a third concerning the cooperation of both countries' diplomatic academies, Papaioannou said.

Additionally, on January 25, Dendias will attend the EU Foreign Affairs Council convening in Brussels and probably have a number of meetings Dendias on the sidelines of the council.

Dendias is also planning to visit Saudi Arabia at some point in the near future. The Greek minister recently spoke on the phone with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, with the discussion also focusing on Dendias' visit.

Finally, on Tuesday, January 12, Dendias will attend the presentation of credentials by the new Ambassadors to Greece to President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

Regarding the start of exploratory talks with Turkey, Papaioannou said there has been no progress.

Commenting, on the events in Washington, he underlined that Greece is monitoring the developments, adding that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has already expressed his opinion on the matter.

Finally, the foreign ministry's spokesperson referred to Wednesday's announcement welcoming the signing of the Al-Ula Declaration, in the context of the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit Meeting.

"This important step, we hope will further contribute to the continuous efforts undertaken by our friends and partners in order to achieve peace, security, stability and prosperity in the region," the announcement said.