Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos also took part in the Conference of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, which was organized at the initiative of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
The meeting that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders on the sidelines of the European Council ended shortly after 6:00 pm on Thursday.
In a significant upgrade in bilateral relations and of deepening cooperation in areas of mutual interest, a Common Statement of Strategic Cooperation between Greece and Japan was signed on Monday by visiting Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida at the latter’s residence in Tokyo.
That Greece pulled out of the Leopards deal is no surprise.
Over the past few months, the two countries have been at loggerheads over a range of issues, including maritime territorial boundaries in the Aegean, occupied Cyprus, and military acquisitions.
The Greek foreign minister then referred to the aggressive rhetoric of Turkish officials "who on an almost daily basis launch, unprovoked, threats against Greece".
