VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTH #0043 0280951
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280951Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1400
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS

UNCLAS ATHENS 000043 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PREF EAID ECON HA GR
SUBJECT: HAITI: GREECE SEEKING TO PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND 
RESETTLE ORPHANS 
 
REF: STATE 6918 
 
¶1. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis convoked 
Ambassador Speckhard January 25 to explain Greece's increasing 
frustration with not getting a Greek humanitarian flight 
expeditiously into Haiti, and the political fallout this was having 
for the new government in the Greek media and among the public. 
Kouvelis sought assurances that the February 8 date assigned to the 
Greek 747 humanitarian flight by the Haiti Operations Coordination 
Center was firm; the ambassador reassured Kouvelis that we would 
work to make that happen. Kouvelis stressed that Greece wanted to 
be responsive, that the shipment represented a bold new effort at 
private-public partnership and that the Greek government was trying 
to encourage more Greek citizens to participate in such efforts and 
to help strengthen a weak Greek civil society in the process. 
 
 
 
¶2. The Minister said that as a result of the changing needs on the 
ground, Greece would drop its SAR component and send about 50 tons 
of humanitarian and medical assistance along with 80 medical 
personnel. He added that Greece plans to work with UNICEF to 
evacuate up to 300 Haitian orphans for adoption in Greece, which 
would be facilitated by the Greek Orthodox Church. The ambassador 
cautioned that all international conventions must be followed to 
allow the transportation and eventual adoption of the Haitian 
orphans, and promised to provide Kouvelis' staff with information 
that should help Greece to navigate the international legal 
process. Kouvelis said Greece stands ready to assist in any way 
deemed critical by the United Nations or Haitian authorities. 
 
 
 
¶3. Separately, the ambassador delivered reftel demarche points to 
Kouvelis, underscoring that U.S. relief and recovery efforts are at 
the request of the Haitian government. Both the ambassador and DCM 
also made similar statements to the Greek media January 22, which 
were reportedly factually in weekend newspapers. 
Speckhard