(CNN) -- Days after blocking a Gaza-bound flotilla, Greece's government offered Sunday to ship aid to the Palestinian territory -- a move applauded by the U.N. chief but derided as insufficient by protest organizers and Palestinian authorities. Greece's foreign ministry released a statement Sunday afternoon in which it proposed to "undertake the task of transporting the humanitarian aid, with Greek vessels or other appropriate means, through existing channels." That same day, Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis talked by phone with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The U.N. chief "thanked" the Greek official and "expressed support for the Greek initiative," according to a statement from the United Nations.
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The Greek government offers to transport humanitarian aid to Gaza on its ships
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Its authorities have barred 10 ships full of activists from sailing to Gaza
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U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon welcomes the offer, saying "it could help reduce tensions"
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But a Palestinian leader says this won't address what it calls an unfair blockade
After an hours-long standoff, the ship eventually returned to @placeholder, where it is tied up at a Greek naval facility.