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Bilateral relations From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greece–Syria relations are bilateral relations between Greece and Syria. Greece has an embassy in Damascus and 3 honorary consulates (in Latakia, Tartus and Aleppo). Syria has an embassy in Athens.[1] Both countries are members of the Union of the Mediterranean, although Syria suspended its membership in 2011.[2] Both countries have many common interests and the historical, cultural and geographical relations that characterize their region.
 Greece |
 Syria | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 10,482,487[3] | 18,604,031[4] |
| Area | 131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi) | 185,180 km2 (71,500 sq mi) |
| Population Density | 97/km2 (250/sq mi) | 118.3/km2 (306.4/sq mi) |
| Capital | Athens | Damascus |
| Largest City | Athens – 3,059,764 | Damascus – 2,503,000[5] |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic | Unitary dominant-party semi-presidential republic |
| Current leader | President Katerina Sakellaropoulou Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis |
President Bashar al-Assad Prime Minister Hussein Arnous |
| Official languages | Greek | Arabic |
| Main religions | 90% Greek Orthodox (official), 3% other Christian, 4% no religion, 2% Islam, 1% other[6] | 87% Islam, 10% Christianity, 3% Druzism |
| Ethnic groups | 97% Greeks, 3% Western Slavs | 75% Arabs 10% Kurds 15% Others (including Turkomans, Assyrians, Circassians, Armenians and Jews)[7][8] |
| GDP (nominal) | US$240,3 billion ($24,595 per capita) | US$22,4 billion,[9] ($1,265 per capita) |
Archaeological and historical evidence and documents indicate that the Syrian-Greek relations have started in the second millennium BC in general. The first contact between the two Mediterranean nations started with Cadmus introducing Phoenician Alphabet to Ancient Greece. In addition, Ugarit in Syria had also contact with Messinia and the Minoan civilization,[13] until it was destroyed by the Sea People.
Thirty Ugaritic letters, which is known as the Ugaritic alphabet invented by Syrians from Ugarit. This alphabet moved thanks to the Syrian and Greek navigators to the country of Greece. Archaeological documents also indicate that the Messinians had communities in Ugarit, especially in its port Minet el-Beida, which bears a Greek name (Lokos Limen). This port was a great witness to the oldest commercial and cultural relations between the two countries, and the Greeks had large groups of merchants who, along with Ugarit merchants, supervised maritime trade, import and export.
Macedonian Greek king, Alexander the Great conquered Syria and the region in 333–332 BCE. Afterwards, Seleucus led the Seleucid Empire to rule Syria, which lasted until 64 BCE. In Syria, Seleucids had many achievements such as building cities like Antioch, Laodicea, and Apamea, in addition to laying the foundations to the Aleppo Citadel.
Late on, the Byzantine Empire kept the Greek influence until mid-7th century, in which they developed the Norias of Hama. During the Byzantine rule, the Eastern Orthodox Church was the common religion between the two nations, which still has 503,000 members in Syria.[14]
Both Greece and Syria were occupied by the Ottoman Empire for more than four centuries.
During the WWII, many Greeks fled their country after the Nazi invasion, mainly from the island of Chios to seek refuge in Al-Nayrab camp, near Aleppo.[15] During the Syrian Civil War, thousands of Syrians went to Greece and Europe to escape war in their country.
On May 8, 2020, the Greek Foreign Ministry Nikos Dendias announced a restoration of relations between Greece and Syria and assigned former ambassador to Syria and Russia, Tasia Athanassiou, as a Special Envoy of Greece's Foreign Ministry for Syria.[16]
In July 2020, Syria initiated the construction of a Russian-funded replica of Hagia Sophia in the predominantly Christian town of Al-Suqaylabiyah.[17]
After ending of Syrian offensive against Turkish occupation and Balyun airstrike, Turkey asked NATO for help to launch a large-scale military intervention in Syria, but Greece vetoed Turkey's aid, thereby protecting Syria from NATO.[18]
In June 2021, Greece reopened its embassy in Damascus, following the withdrawal of its diplomatic mission from Syria in 2012.[19] In April 2024, Greece, Romania, Cyprus, and Italy, expressed their intention to re-establish contact and collaboration with the Syrian government.[20]
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