ATHENS — President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Monday received the Secretary General of the Interparliamentary Assemby on Orthodoxy (IAO) Maximos Charakopoulos and IAO President Sergei Gavrilov, who thanked her for the state's long-standing support of the institution.

They also briefed Sakellaropoulou on the preparation of the IAO General Assembly in July on Crete, their actions to promote the role of the Orthodoxy as well as their initiatives for harmonious inter-religious coexistence.

Earlier on Monday,Sakellaropoulou offered her condolences to her Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella over the tragic fall of a cable car linking Lake Maggiore with a mountain in the Alps, in which 14 people were killed and a child seriously injured.

"I wish to express my deepest condolences to President Mattarella and the Italian people for the tragic accident near Lake Maggiore that resulted in the loss of many lives. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims. @Quirinale," the president wrote in a tweet on the Greek presidency's account.