Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, who arrived in Israel and the Palestinian territory, where the hostilities are taking place, met with Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, writes the Orthodoxia news agency.

As Dendias wrote on Twitter, at the meeting he “emphasized the importance of protecting the Sacred Places of Pilgrimage and preserving their status.”

The Greek minister is the first European foreign minister to visit the region since the start of the conflict.

The minister will also visit Jordan and Egypt.