During a working visit to the Hellenic Republic, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The Head of State noted that it was a great honor for him to pay a visit to 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 capabilities of the defense forces to restore the security and territorial integrity of our country. Volodymyr Zelenskyy conveyed information on the defense needs of the Ukrainian army for speeding 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 parties also discussed the situation in the Black Sea region, in particular the threat that Russia has posed to ports, freedom of navigation and, as a result, to food security around the world.
"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 of the fact that Greek companies are ready to participate in the transportation of Ukrainian grain.
During the talks, the parties focused on a program of patronage over Ukrainian regions and cities that need to recover from Russian strikes or hostilities, under which Greece could focus on helping to rebuild Odesa.
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 expressed gratitude to Greece for supporting Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
"I really appreciate your signing of the declaration of support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration, Mr. Prime Minister. This is a much-needed signal - a signal that Greece wants peace as much as we do. We all in Ukraine strive for a just peace," Volodymyr Zelenskyy summarized.
