Α post by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky stirred the Greek political landscape on Thursday, raising serious questions about the agreements Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reached during his recent visit to Odessa.
Zelensky and Mitsotakis had a phone conversation earlier on Thursday and following the talks, the Ukrainian president posted on social media referring to “the implementation of agreements reached,” spoke of “permanent defense cooperation, especially in terms of strengthening the air defense”, but also of the signing of a Bilateral Security Pact.
Worth noting that the Greek government has not made any relevant announcement on such an issue.
I spoke with Greek Prime Minister @KMitsotakis about the implementation of our agreements reached during his recent visit to Ukraine, as well as our ongoing defense cooperation, particularly in terms of strengthening our air defense.
On March 6th in Odesa, Prime Minister… pic.twitter.com/iWH5JHSmYM
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 21, 2024
about the implementation of our agreements reached during his recent visit to Ukraine, as well as our ongoing defense cooperation, particularly in terms of strengthening our air defense. On March 6th in Odesa, Prime Minister Mitsotakis could witness firsthand the importance of reliably protecting our skies. Additionally, I briefed him on the Russian strike on Kyiv this morning. We also agreed to speed up work on a bilateral security agreement based on the G7 Vilnius Declaration.”
I spoke with @ZelenskyyUa ahead of today's #EUCO discussions on Ukraine. Greece will continue to support Ukraine. My visit to Odessa impressed upon me even more the urgency of stepping up our assistance. I am glad to see Ukraine making steady progress towards EU membership.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) March 21, 2024
In Athens, government sources rejected Zelensky’s claim telling to media that “there is no agreement with Ukraine for the shipment of defense equipment.”
The sources added that “the agreement, which the Ukrainian president is talking about in his post, is the strategic agreement that all EU member states are invited to sign for the integration of Ukraine which ‘is not even ready.”
It is recalled that the Greek prime minister not only made the visit to Odessa on March 6, “but he also tried to appear as a standard-bearer of the West by conveying commitments (whose and with what legalization process?) for greater support and involvement in the war against Russia, news magazine topontiki.gr noted.
First of opposition parties, it was PASOK that demanded an official briefing by the government on “such a matter of highest national interest,” as it characteristically said.
