Themistoklis Demiris

President Katerina Sakellaropoulou today signed a legislative decree that was drafted by the government in order to, as it said, "address the exceptionally urgent need to adopt regulations to bolster the integrity of the National Intelligence Service [EYP]."

The Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry submitted a strong demarche to Iran's ambassador in Athens concerning the "violent seizure" of two Greek-flagged ships by Iranian naval forces in the Persian Gulf on Friday.

This was carried out by the ministry's General Secretary Themistoklis Demiris, by order of minister Nikos Dendias.

By George Gilson

Russian ambassador to Athens Andrey Maslov has been summoned to the Greek foreign ministry tomorrow after the killing of 10 ethnic Greeks and the injury of six more in Russian bombings in Eastern Ukraine.

Six were killed in the village of Santana and four others in the village of Bugas.

Turkish foreign minister Mevlet Cavusoglu has confirmed that he is to hold talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on 14 April and said that the aim of the meeting is to lay the groundwork for a summit meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Senior diplomats from Turkey and Greece will hold a two-day meeting this week to discuss the course of bilateral relationships as well as the problems that stem from the Aegean Sea during the 62nd round of consultative talks.

Turkish Foreign Ministry on March 11 summoned the Greek ambassador in Ankara over violations of Turkey's territorial waters and the detention of journalists, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Greece's envoy Michael-Christos Diamessis was summoned to the ministry in capital Ankara. The ministry called on Greece to end violations of the Turkish waters. 

National Security Advisor, Vice Admiral Alexandros Diakopoulos, and Ambassador Themistoklis Demiris, secretary-general of Greece's Foreign Ministry, met Thursday with Israel's Foreign Ministry Director-General Yuval Rotem in Athens as part of the "annual foreign policy dialogue" between the two countries.

Israel's Foreign Ministry director-general Yuval Rotem will visit Athens Wednesday for talks with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and other officials, the Israeli embassy announced.

As officials from the foreign ministries of Greece and Turkey met for political consultations in Ankara on Friday, Turkish jets were reported to have violated Greek airspace over the islet of Ro.