Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met at Maximos Mansion with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Johann Wadephul.
During the meeting, regional developments were discussed, focusing on Iran, Lebanon, and the broader Middle East region.
The Prime Minister stressed that Europe must maintain a presence in the region following a peace agreement, adding that it must support the Lebanese government and its armed forces.
They also discussed issues of common European interest, such as Euro-Atlantic relations, the strengthening of collective European defense, and the new Multiannual Financial Framework.
At the beginning of their meeting, the Prime Minister and the German Foreign Minister had the following dialogue:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Welcome to Athens. You come at a time of great turbulence, so there’s a lot to discuss. You know, we’re the country, with Cyprus, that is closest to what is happening in the Middle East.
And of course, we have a very strong interest in ensuring that this situation is peacefully resolved as quickly as possible, especially when it comes to the preservation of the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Νot just as a European country, but also as a leading country in the shipping industry, we think it is imperative that no precedent is set, not just in the region, but globally. And I’m very, very interested to hear your thoughts as to the next steps.
We are a country, as you know and as you’ve discussed with our Minister, that has constructive relationships, I would say, with every country in the region, which I think makes us a credible “bridge builder”. But of course, to get to the point where we will start building bridges, we first need to get past the points of, you know, blowing them up.
So make sure that we get to a point where, again, diplomacy takes precedent is, I think, a common priority for both our countries. So again, welcome and very good to see you.
Johann Wadephul: Thank you, Prime Minister, for having us this afternoon. It’s very important to meet in these times, as you said. I’m coming with very warm regards from Friedrich Merz. I spoke to him yesterday in the evening, and he asked me to convey his warmest regards to you. He appreciates the friendship the two of you have. And this is also true for our two countries and for the two governments, and especially also for us as Foreign Ministers in these crucial times.
We spoke a lot about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz this morning, and this, I think, very, very necessary that we make a point and play a role as a European Union because we have interests in this very region, as we have interests to bring the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine to an end.
So I would say, looking forward to your presidency next year in the European Union, we should strengthen our efforts to make the European Union capable of tackling all the threats we are facing and the challenges we are facing. And this should be done between friends and core partners Greece and Germany are. Thank you.
