Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Athens on Monday for an official visit, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ office said, adding that he would attend an informal dinner with leaders from the European Union (EU) and the Balkans.
Volodymyr Zelensky, who was this weekend in Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark, continues his surprise tour of Europe in a country that has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since the invasion of Russia. Athens has provided Kyiv with humanitarian aid and weapons, including infantry fighting vehicles, Kalashnikov assault rifles and ammunition.
A dinner in the presence of Ursula Von der Leyen
The head of the Greek executive meets on Monday and Tuesday with the leaders of the Balkans, and in this context organizes Monday evening an informal dinner in the presence of the president of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen and the head of the European Council Charles Michel. Also announced are the presidents of Serbia, Moldova, Montenegro and Romania, the prime ministers of Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Croatia, and the chair of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia -Herzegovina, detailed the office of Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a press release.
The meeting marks the 20th anniversary of a summit in Thessaloniki which confirmed the European perspective of the Western Balkan states. Although a traditional ally of Moscow, against a backdrop of shared Orthodox Christian faith, Athens unequivocally condemned, under Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Thousands of Ukrainians welcomed in Greece
Greece expelled a dozen members of Russian diplomatic and consular missions in 2022 and is hosting thousands of Ukrainians and their families. Last April, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov traveled to Athens to meet his counterpart at the time. He then declared that kyiv would ask Athens for help after the war to clear the Sea of Azov and develop the country’s naval forces.
Greece has, for its part, proposed to rebuild the maternity hospital bombed in 2022 in Mariupol, a city currently occupied by Russian forces. The Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Odessa have had large populations of Greek origin for centuries.