Marinakis: The upgrade from Standard & Poor's is a victory for the Greek economy

He underlined that "during the meeting, the prime minister expressed his horror and sorrow at Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel and reiterated Israel's right to self-defence according to international law. He also stressed the need to protect civilians, free Israelis held hostage by Hamas and avoid a humanitarian crisis."

Marinakis also referred to the upgraded rating given to Greece's economy by Standard & Poor's on Friday, which granted the country an investment grade rating for the first time after the economic crisis. "This upgrade is a victory for the Greek economy, which is moving forward despite a broader environment of successive global crises." He noted that "S&P is the fourth rating agency in a row and the second one recognised by the European Central Bank to assign an investment grade rating to Greece in recent months, after 13 years."

Marinakis said that the prime minister will return to Athens in the afternoon, adding that on Saturday, Mitsotakis went to Egypt as part of the work of the Cairo Peace Summit. "Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in his intervention, emphasised that the main message that should emerge should be that we all condemn terrorism in all its manifestations and express our regret at the loss of life and the destruction suffered by innocent civilians from the violence in Israel and Gaza following the terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7."

Mitsotakis also reiterated Greece's clear position that Israel has a right to self-defence under international and humanitarian law, Marinakis said, and added: "We must be honest in our judgment. Hamas is a terrorist organisation that inflicts untold suffering on both Israelis and Palestinians. It should be held accountable. Hamas is not the Palestinian people and we should not confuse them. The Palestinian people do not deserve this."

Then the government spokesperson referred to the prime minister's statement that "the future we want for this region, a future of sustainable peace, stability and prosperity can only be achieved by resuming the peace process on the basis of a two-state solution. And if one thing should be clear to all of us, it is that no military intervention can replace a viable political solution."