Posted August 21, 2023 at 1:21 p.m. ET
Updated August 21, 2023 at 2:49 p.m. ET
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Maximos mansion in Athens, Greece, Monday, August 21, 2023. Zelenskyy traveled to Greece on Monday for talks with the country’s leaders and to attend at an informal meeting of Balkan leaders with senior European Union officials. (AP Photo/Thanasis Stavrakis)
ATHENS, GREECE — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Greece on Monday for talks with the country’s leaders and to attend an informal meeting of Balkan leaders with senior European Union officials.
Zelensky met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and was scheduled to meet with iconic President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
In the evening, Zelensky was expected to join an informal dinner hosted by Mitsotakis for senior officials from nine Balkan countries, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel, the office said. by Mitsotakis.
The dinner was planned to discuss the future of the Western Balkans region within the EU, which many countries have already joined and the rest are fighting to enter.
Greece joined its NATO and EU partners in strongly supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion and provided military assistance in the form of armored personnel carriers and munitions.
But Athens has resisted pressure to equip kyiv with a Russian-made air defense missile system stationed on the southern island of Crete. Greece is engaged in a major arms purchase program amid difficult relations with neighboring Turkey, its NATO ally and historic regional rival.
Earlier Monday, Zelensky was in Denmark, where he thanked lawmakers for helping his country resist the Russian invasion. On Sunday, Denmark and the Netherlands announced they would supply Kiev with F-16 warplanes that could be delivered towards the end of the year.
The Athens dinner was held to mark the 20th anniversary of the EU-Western Balkans summit in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, as Balkan states sought to join the bloc.
The presidents of Serbia, Montenegro and Moldova, the prime ministers of North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, as well as the head of the council of ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina were expected to attend Monday’s dinner. Mitsotakis also met with several of them individually on Monday and Tuesday.
A notable absence was that of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. Relations between Greece and its northwest neighbor have deteriorated following the imprisonment of Greek ethnic minority leader Fredi Beleri, arrested before local elections in May on allegations of vote buying.
Beleri was elected mayor of the Albanian town of Himara in southwestern Albania, although he is in pre-trial detention. Athens insists his detention is politically motivated and has called for his release.
“I think we all understand that it was not possible to invite Mr. Rama to such an important initiative,” Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said.
“When we say that Albania’s European path involves fundamental respect for European rules and the rules of justice, we really mean it,” he added, stressing that the Albanian president had declined an invitation to do so. to assist.
