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ATHENS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and visiting German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel Thursday condemned Wednesday's London terror attack, calling for unity within Europe to safeguard prosperity and social cohesion.
"We will defend the people and democracy against any challenge. Terrorism will not pass," Pavlopoulos stressed when welcoming Gabriel at the presidential mansion, according to an e-mailed statement.
The meeting came a day after Wednesday's attack outside the British Parliament where four people were killed and over 20 injured, among them two Greek nationals who suffered minor injuries, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed.
Both Pavlopoulos and Gabriel extended their respective countries' support for the British people, urging for unity instead of divisions to successfully face all common challenges.
"Greece is joining Germany and all other EU partners to build a prosperous Europe with increasing competitiveness that respects the basic principles and values on which it was established: democracy, the state of law and social justice," Pavlopoulos said ahead of this Saturday's summit to celebrate the 60-year anniversary of the Rome Treaty that established the European Economic Community.
"Domestic security is a very important issue as well as social cohesion, which holds a key role in this context. Social security is actually the other side of the same coin," Gabriel said on his part.
"Therefore, we need to make every effort so that in southern Europe -- not only in Greece, but also Italy and Spain -- young people will have the chance to find work again. We must make any effort against division within Europe," he added.
In all meetings during his two-day visit to Athens, the German official repeatedly stressed the need for stronger cooperation among European member states to resolve issues, such as the Greek debt crisis, the migrant crisis, and security issues.
Europe cannot become stronger if it progresses with amputations, he said during joint statements with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias. Enditem
