Greece's three goals were outlined by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, Tasos Hatzivasileiou, on Friday, in an interview with Open TV.
Hatzivasileiou also ruled out the possibility of sending Greek troops to Ukraine. "We are clear. There are no thoughts of sending troops to Ukraine," he stated.
"Our priority is to make the ceasefire agreement work," he stressed, noting that "our second goal is to enable Ukraine to rely on its defence for as long as necessary in any way possible. And the third goal is to enable Ukraine, when it sits at a negotiating table, to have the best possible starting point to achieve a sustainable and stable peace. These are the Greek positions."
"Greece's foreign policy is clear," he underlined.
Asked about Greece's relations with Russia, the deputy foreign minister said that "Greece disagrees with the Kremlin's choice to invade a third sovereign country." He clarified that "we support the countries suffering from an unprovoked invasion by third parties. Greece cannot be a clear defender of international law and have double standards in the affairs of other countries."
Asked about Europe's stance, he said that it "lost valuable time" regarding the need for strategic autonomy and common defence before the Russian invasion and expressed his satisfaction because "the discussion has finally begun and is moving very quickly and rapidly so that we can move forward with a common framework for European defence."
"I believe," he added, "that Europe is and will be present in Ukraine, because when this war ends, Europe will be the one that will co-shape the new security landscape in the region."