Greece calls for 'joint action' on regional security

By Diyar Guldogan

RHODES, Greece

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias called Friday for countries to take "joint action" to achieve security and stability in the region.

"We want to have joint action for the people in the region," Kotzias told reporters on the final day of a security and stability conference in Rhodes, where ministers and officials from Balkan and Arab countries had gathered.

Kotzias said: "The reason why we have this meeting is to actually come up with positive actions that are possible and that can help countries."

The minister said the participant countries -- Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates – had agreed to hold the meeting every year on the Greek island.

"We are also going to send invitations to the rest of the Arab countries to participate," Kotzias added.

Kotzias said the ongoing regional refugee crisis was “discussed extensively". Although Turkey is hosting the largest number of refugees in the world, with more than 2.5 million Syrians in the country, it is not taking part in the Rhodes conference.

The Greek minister also warned there may be a "shift" in the refugee flow, with people coming not only from Syria, Afghanistan or Pakistan but also from Sub-Saharan Africa due to climate change and desertification.