Greek foreign minister to visit Ukraine

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will make a visit to Ukraine as a sign of support for the country, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said.

According to the report, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held a phone call with Dendias. Kuleba welcomed Dendias' decision to visit Ukraine and hold meetings with the Greek community in Mariupol. The Greek foreign minister assured his Ukrainian counterpart that the visit was an act of support for Ukraine.

"Last year, I called on all partners to pay visits to Ukraine in January-February 2022 in support of our state amid security threats from Russia. The constant presence of high-ranking foreign guests in Ukraine defuses tensions. I appreciate that the head of Greek diplomacy also responded to this call and will visit Ukraine soon," Kuleba said.

Dendias said Greece is closely monitoring the situation and believes that there are no grounds for premature decisions. Greece does not plan to evacuate its diplomats or members of their families, nor is it urging Greek citizens and Ukrainians of Greek descent to leave Ukraine. Instead, the Greek government is ready to continue to help the Greek community in Ukraine.

Kuleba informed his Greek counterpart about the current security situation in the face of Russia's aggressive actions. Both ministers discussed the preparation by the EU of sanctions against Russia. The foreign ministers also agreed on a schedule of bilateral visits for 2022.

Kuleba emphasized the importance of further development of network diplomacy and close coordination of partners' positions with Ukraine before and after contacts with Russia, so that the Kremlin is not tempted to further military escalation.

Kuleba said on January 30 that the prime ministers of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Poland will pay working visits to Kyiv this week.

op