ATHENS — Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories on Tuesday, a foreign ministry announcement said on Monday.

Dendias will hold meetings with Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, with his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi and with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al Maliki.

Moreover, Dendias will take part in the urgent teleconference of EU Foreign Ministers called by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell about the developments in the region. Later, he will go to Jordan to meet with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi.

Finally, on Thursday Dendias will visit Cairo where he will meet with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Earlier on Monday, Dendias had a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ahead of his imminent visits, the same announcement said.

Greece as pillar of stability and champion of promoting security and prosperity in the wider region is actively involved in the diplomatic developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, diplomatic sources said on Monday.

In this context, they reported that Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will be having a series of meetings with his counterparts in the region and will be the first EU member-state foreign minister to visit Israel and Palestinian Territories since the start of the crisis.

Finally, they underlined that the meeting with the Patriarch of Jerusalem indicates Greece's justifiable interest in the protection of the Holy Pilgrimages and preservation of their status.