President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have signed a joint declaration on Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration in Athens.
Source: European Pravda, citing the text of the declaration published by the President's Office
Details: As the document states, Ukraine and Greece "confirm their commitment to strengthen joint efforts in supporting the integration of Ukraine with the Alliance and implementation of NATO standards."
Athens declares that it will continue its military, technical, defence, and humanitarian support to Ukraine, as well as contribute to the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
The parties also stated that Ukraine's security is "vital for the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area". They supported the role of the NATO-Ukraine Council as a platform for expanding cooperation between Kyiv and Brussels.
Quote: "The Hellenic Republic supports Ukraine [becoming a] NATO Member when Allies agree, and conditions are met, as stated in the NATO Vilnius Summit Declaration."
More details: Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of the President’s Office, clarified that Greece has become the 24th member state of the alliance with which Ukraine has formalised support for Ukraine's NATO membership.
"Only a quarter of the total number of members remains eight countries with which we have not yet concluded such declarations. At the same time, most of these countries have already expressed support for us; it remains only to put it on paper," Zhovkva said.
Background:
- The issue of Ukraine's membership in the alliance became one of the topics of the Vilnius NATO summit in July this year.
- The summit agreed to remove the requirement for an action plan for membership on Ukraine's way to the Alliance. At the same time, the Allies made it clear that they would invite Ukraine to join NATO "when the conditions are met". The annual national program (ANP) will become a tool for monitoring the reforms that Ukraine is implementing. This tool is already at the disposal of Ukraine.
Zelensky calls on Greece to help with Black Sea security
Kyiv has requested additional anti-air systems from Greece to protect the Black Sea port city of Odesa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Aug. 21.
During the briefing in Athens, the president emphasized Ukraine's efforts to restore the safety of navigation along the Black Sea coast and establish a new “grain corridor” to resume unimpeded exports of Ukrainian produce.
“This [alternative corridor] can work, but for its stable operation, we need to bolster the anti-air shield of the Black Sea region, particularly for our city of Odesa,” said Zelenskyy.
