Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met at the Maximou Mansion with Minister of Foreign Affairs of GermanyJohann Wadephul.
During the meeting, regional developments were discussed, with a focus on Iran, Lebanon and the wider Middle East region.
The Prime Minister stressed that Europe must be present in the region following a peace agreement, adding that it must support the government and armed forces of Lebanon.
They also discussed issues of mutual European interest, such as Euro-Atlantic relations, the strengthening of collective European defence 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 turmoil, so we have much to discuss. We are, together with Cyprus, the country closest to what is happening in the Middle East.
We are, of course, very keen to ensure that this situation is resolved peacefully as soon as possible, especially with regard to maintaining freedom of navigation in the Straits of Hormuz. Not only as a European country, but also as a country with a leading position in shipping, we consider it imperative that no precedent is set, not only in the region, but also globally. And I am very interested to hear your thoughts on the next steps.
We are a country, as you know and as you discussed with our Minister, that maintains, I would say, constructive relations with all the countries in the region, which, in my opinion, makes us reliable bridge-builders. But, of course, to get to the point where we start building bridges, we first have to get past the point where we blow them up.
So, making sure that we get to a point where diplomacy is a priority is, I think, a shared priority for our two countries. Welcome, and it’s very good to see you.
Johann Wadephul: Thank you, Prime Minister, for hosting us this afternoon. It is very important to meet in these times, as you said. I convey to you very warm greetings from Friedrich Merz. I spoke with him yesterday afternoon and he asked me to convey his warmest regards, he appreciates the friendship that binds you. This is also true for our two countries and for both governments, especially for the Foreign Ministers at this critical time.
