Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, February 22.
During the two men’s conversation, Mitsotakis reiterated to the Ukrainian President that Greece and the European Union support Ukraine and that it’s up to Ukraine to decide which peace framework is acceptable for the country while that nothing can be decided on Ukraine without Ukraine.
The Greek Prime Minister also informed Zelensky that he will be participating in the teleconference of world leaders organized by Kiev on the three-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Monday, February 24. Mitsotakis and Zelensky also discussed the latest diplomatic developments.
I spoke with Greek Prime Minister @kmitsotakis and thanked him for Greece’s unwavering support for Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
We deeply appreciate the solidarity of the Greek people, Greece’s firm stance in condemning aggression, and its…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 22, 2025
The telephone call comes as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are in negotiation talks on how to end the war in Ukraine without the participation of Ukraine and the European Union. Zelensky in recent days has been holding telephone calls with several European leaders to discuss the current developments.
At the same time, President Zelensky has been under pressure by the United States to sign a draft agreement over the country’s rare earth minerals and other natural resources. According to a source close to the negotiations quoted Saturday in international media, Trump’s draft deal is “not the one President Zelensky would accept.”
The U.S. is trying to gain access to Ukraine’s natural resources as part of wider negotiations aiming to end the war. In return, Ukraine has been pushing for security guarantees.
Greek PM Mitsotakis struggles to align Greece with Europe and US before call with Zelensky
This is not the first time Greece’s Mitsotakis says that any solution to the Ukraine war cannot be achieved without Ukraine.
Only days ago, he attempted a balancing act between the US and Europe over Ukraine when speaking to Bloomberg on Thursday, February 20.
During the interview, Mitsotakis was careful not to be seen directly criticizing President Trump who on Wednesday labeled Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky “a dictator,” but stressed that any solution to the war cannot be achieved without Ukraine.
“Overall, we must agree on certain basic issues. We need peace, we agree on this with our American friends. There can be no solution for Ukraine without the involvement of Ukraine,” he noted about the developments in Ukraine and added that “Europe must do what is necessary for its own security, not only for the security of Ukraine.”
Since the end of WWII, Greece has been closely allied to the West including the US and Europe. It did not have to choose between the two. Now Athens is navigating a complex diplomatic challenge, balancing its commitment to the European Union with its long-standing relationship with the US.
“I have always been in favor of the view that Europe should set its own defense priorities. We need to increase resources for defense and we need greater fiscal flexibility in Europe on this issue,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized elsewhere, also expressing the view that “we should also examine the issue of the European missile shield.”
“We are in a phase of awakening. When Trump said that in Europe we do not spend much on defense, he was right. We need budgetary flexibility for defense and this decision can be taken at the next summit in March,” he added, further adding that “these resources should not come only from national budgets but a combination of European and national resources is required.”