Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accepted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s invitation to attend the upcoming Ukraine-Southeastern Europe Summit in Odessa during a telephone call between the two leaders on Thursday.
Zelensky announced the summit on social media platform X, saying “I invited Prime Minister Mitsotakis to take part in the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe summit. He confirmed his participation.” He added that Greece shares Ukraine’s position on intensifying sanctions against Russia, as this “will contribute to increasing the pressure.”
The two leaders, according to Greek and Ukrainian media, also discussed continued military support for Ukraine. “Of course it is important to continue supporting Ukraine, our army, our domestic defense production and to strengthen air defense. We are grateful for Greece’s continued readiness to help protect lives,” Zelensky stated.
The Greek PM’s office confirmed that Mitsotakis accepted Zelensky’s invitation during the call, in which the two leaders also discussed the broader diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian President also informed Mitsotakis of his recent talks with US President Donald Trump and European leaders.
“There is a lot of diplomatic work happening these days. Strong pressure and additional sanctions against Russia are needed. The war continues solely because of Russia’s unwillingness to end it,” Zelensky stated on X while thanking the Greek Prime Minister and the European Union for the 17th package of sanctions against Russia.
“Moscow must be deprived of everything that enables it to finance killing,” he said. “Greece will contribute to increasing the pressure.”
I had a good conversation with Prime Minister of Greece @kmitsotakis. We discussed increasing pressure on Russia and the continuation of support for Ukraine.
I informed him about my recent contacts with European partners and President Trump. There is a lot of diplomatic work… pic.twitter.com/vuRMREwyuS
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 22, 2025
Earlier in May, Mitsotakis reiterated Greece’s support for Ukraine during a high-level video conference on the conflict, convened by French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. According to the Prime Minister’s office, Mitsotakis backed an immediate and unconditional 30-day ceasefire as a first step towards a lasting peace.
The upcoming summit also follows a series of regional meetings aimed at strengthening ties between Ukraine and countries in Southeastern Europe. Greece hosted the first such high-level meeting in Athens in August 2023.
Mitsotakis and Zelensky have held a number of telephone conversations, with one also held on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
During their call, 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 nothing can be decided on Ukraine without Ukraine.
In February 2022, Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine before Russian forces tried to take the capital, Kyiv. They were forced back, and the frontlines of the war settled in eastern Ukraine.
