Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz, who is on a working visit to Greece, arrived at the archaeological site of the Acropolis shortly before 09:00 on Thursday morning.
The German chancellor was guided to the sacred rock of the Acropolis by Professor Manolis Korre along the Greek prime minister.
At 11:00, the prime minister received the German chancellor at the Maximos Palace. After their private meeting, specifically at 12:00 noon, the two leaders will make statements to the press and answer journalists' questions.
It will be followed by a working lunch with the participation of the two delegations.
What Scholz - Mitsotakis will discuss
Today is the first official visit of the new German Chancellor to Athens, which is a new page in Greek-German relations, Proto Thema reported.
The visit in question was planned since July and is the second to Greece for Scholz, who was in Thessaloniki in June.
Next Thursday, Mitsotakis will go to the German capital to participate in the "Berlin Process", a German initiative in which the leaders of the Western Balkan countries and Europe participate.
The German chancellor, who arrived in Athens yesterday directly from Paris and after his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, has arrived in Greece at a critical geopolitical moment, during which tectonic changes are taking place in Europe due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The agenda of today's meeting, which started at 11:00 at the Maximos Palace, includes bilateral relations and economic cooperation, dealing with the energy crisis, developments in Ukraine and the continued support of partners and allies.
Turkey and defence
A separate section of the discussion will, of course, be about Turkish provocations and the direct questioning of Greek sovereignty.
In Athens , they observe with interest that German rhetoric on the subject has changed in recent months, with clear positions on the questioning of the Greek islands, but also on the Turkish- Libyan Memorandum.
The change in German tone, after all, has rung bells in Ankara as well, while what Scholz will choose to say in the joint statements after the meeting on the matter should be awaited with interest.
At the same time, it remains to be seen whether the two leaders will also discuss the possibility of tightening Greek-German relations in the defence sector as well, and especially with an emphasis on the Army.
Thoughts are on the table, but also discussions, such as the possibility of an investment in Northern Greece for the construction and maintenance of tanks and other armoured vehicles.
The beginning of the new phase in Athens-Berlin cooperation, however, was made with the "circular exchange" agreement, which saw Ukraine supplied with Greek BMP-1 armoured vehicles. In return, Germany is replacing the Ukraine-bound BMP-1 with German-made Marder armoured vehicles.
Controversies on energy
In the face of the energy crisis, Mitsotakis and Scholz will have the opportunity to have a rather not so easy discussion, given the contrasts between Athens and Berlin in energy policies.
A few days ago, of note, Mitsotakis had an extensive exchange of views with the German chancellor at the European Council meeting.
As government sources observe, opinions were bridged and there were convergences in the Commission's proposals on all aspects of the energy crisis, including the need to contain energy prices.
The issue, of course, is that the Germans have not yet fully overcome their reservations that a price cap would create a problem for the EU's supply security and, consequently, of their country. Scholz's position on energy will be interesting.
READ MORE: Greek Archaeological sites, historical sites, monuments and museums will be free this Friday.
