During a working visit to the Hellenic Republic on August 21, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The Head of State noted that it was a great honor to visit Greece to give a new impetus to bilateral relations and make cooperation even more beneficial for both nations. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude to the head of the Greek government for his attention to Ukraine and the preparation of the Balkan Summit.
During the meeting, the President informed the Prime Minister of Greece about the situation on the frontline, recent Russian missile strikes, and the defense forces’ capabilities to restore Ukraine’s security and territorial integrity. Volodymyr Zelenskyy conveyed information on the defense needs of the Ukrainian army to speed up the end of the war.
“Today, we have an important result for the aviation coalition – Greece will take part in training our pilots on F-16s. Thank you for this offer. And I thank you and your team for your willingness to do more to help Ukraine defend our freedom. We are grateful that there will be Greek defense support for Ukraine. Our teams will work out the relevant details,” the Head of State said, addressing Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a meeting with media representatives following the negotiations with the Prime Minister of Greece.
The Greek Prime Minister reiterated that Greece has been on the side of Ukraine from the first moment, supporting its struggle to defend territorial integrity and national sovereignty, and assured the Ukrainian President that it would “continue doing so, however long it takes to achieve this sacred goal.”
“The Ukrainians, women, and men, are an inspiration to all democratic citizens in Europe. Because standing alongside you is for us a matter of principle. For my country, no attempt to redraw defined borders using military force can be tolerated,” he said.
The parties also discussed the situation in the Black Sea region, particularly the threat that Russia has posed to ports, freedom of navigation, and, as a result, food security worldwide.
“Ukraine has created an alternative “grain corridor” in the Black Sea, and it can work. But for its operation to be stable, we need to bolster the sky shield for the Black Sea region, in particular for our city of Odesa. And this could be a historic contribution of Greece to European security if you help us with the protection of the Black Sea area. As for air defense systems, I have proposed options on how to do this,” the President of Ukraine said.
He also noted the importance that Greek companies are ready to participate in transporting Ukrainian grain.
During the talks, the parties focused on a program of patronage over Ukrainian regions and cities that needed to recover from Russian strikes or hostilities, under which Greece could concentrate on helping to rebuild Odesa.
“But we are also on your side because our peoples are linked by long-standing historical ties,” noted Mitsotakis. “Citizens of Greek origin have lived peacefully for centuries, for millennia, on the shores of the Black Sea, prospering and contributing to your country. That is why no one forgets the crimes against the martyred city of Mariupol, which not only has a Greek name, but also Greek blood flowing in many of its inhabitants. The same of course applies to Odessa, the birthplace of the Filiki Etairia (Society of Friends), which illuminated the Greek Revolution, as well as to Kiev and so many areas of your country that continue to be raided, with thousands of civilians being targeted every day,” he added.
In addition, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine, and Greece will continue to work bilaterally on security guarantees for our country in the framework of the G7 Joint Declaration, which the Hellenic Republic has acceded to. The President thanked Greece for supporting Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
“Therefore, there is no chance that we will ever recognise the illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine, something Russia is attempting to impose by force of arms. This is a stance which is in line with long-standing Greek interests, because our own country has also, occasionally in the past, been confronted with manifestations of unhistorical revisionism and aggressive authoritarianism. We therefore, in principle, stand against any violation of International Law and any illegal occupation fait accompli. After all, something similar is unfortunately still happening in Cyprus,” added the Greek Prime Minister.
