Greece’s President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos visited Kyiv in Ukraine on Thursday.
On her arrival to Ukraine, Sakellaropoulou travelled to the cities of Bucha and Irpin, as well as the village of Borodyanka, all of which had been heavily shelled by Russia.
In Bucha, the Greek President visited the site of mass graves where hundreds of Ukrainians were killed at the hands of Russian armed forces, and attended a photography exhibition on the civilian victims of war.
Later in the day, Sakellaropoulou met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
At a joint press conference after the meeting, Sakellaropoulou said she expressed to Zelenskyy Greece’s undivided support and solidarity with Ukraine.
“Greece will never recognise the illegal annexation of areas in Ukraine that Russia is trying to enforce,” President Sakellaropoulou said.
“We will not forget the [war] crimes committed in Mariupol against its innocent and peaceful inhabitants, a city with a Greek name and with a significant population of Greek descent.”
For his part, Zelenskyy thanked Greece for its support and said negotiations with Sakellaropoulou were very meaningful and important for both countries.
“We are really working together with the Greek side to end this war as soon as possible, to end Russian criminal aggression and to return normal life to Ukraine,” the Ukrainian President said.
“It is for this purpose that we are developing our cooperation in the defence, political, economic, and humanitarian spheres.”
This meeting between both Presidents came as Greece’s Defence Minister was also meeting with Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
Source: Ekathimerini.
