Greece on Friday raised the Spanish flag on top of Parliament in central Athens in a sign of solidarity with its European partner, where the coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 15,000 lives.

The flag-raising ceremony was attended by Spanish Ambassador to Greece Enrique Viguera, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, his alternate Miltiadis Varvitsiotis and Parliament speaker Konstatinos Tassoulas, who further decided that the House will be illuminated in the yellow and red colors of the flag every night for the next three nights.

“You are not alone,” Dendias said in a speech at the flag-raising ceremony on Friday, addressing the people of Spain. “The thoughts of everyone in Greece are with you in this battle, which we shall win together.”



“Our grief is profound as more than 15,000 of our fellow countrymen have lost their lives to this virus… But Spain is not giving up hope. Another 15,000 people have been cured, the biggest number in the world after China. And recent data show we may be entering a new phase during which the number of infections and deaths is stabilizing and even dropping, while the number of cured continues to rise,” said Viguera.

The Spanish flag was also raised alongside the Greek and the European Union ones on the front of the Foreign Ministry and other public buildings in a gesture similar to that extended to Italy last week.