Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday emphasized what he called Greece’s strategic position as far as regional energy inter-connectivity is concerned, ahead of his participation at the “Three Seas Initiative” in Vilnius, Lithuania.
In playing up the east Mediterranean country’s location, he even proposed a renaming of the process into the “four seas initiative.” Currently, the “three seas” refer to the Baltic, Black Sea and Adriatic, the latter in the Mediterranean, with Mitsotakis essentially proposing a southeast axis in the Aegean, also in the Mediterranean.
Greece became an official member of the initiative during Mitsotakis’ visit to the Baltic state last year, while he returned to Vilnius this year to participate in the summit as a member-state’s representative.
“Greece can significantly contribute to this initiative by opening up a southern route of connectivity, whether it concerns rail and road connectivity or energy, as we can become a natural gateway for energy, whether this is natural gas or renewable sources – from the south to the north. As such, I’m looking forward to the interesting discussions we’ll have here today,” he said.
Support for Ukraine, meeting with Zelensky
While in the Lithuanian capital, the Greek premier also reiterated Athens’ support for Ukraine, saying he has accepted invitation by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to attend a peace conference in Switzerland, set for June. He met with the latter on the sidelines of the initiative in the Lithuanian capital.
In an unrelated development, the Greek leader will be received by his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Warsaw on Friday.
Joint statements to the press will follow the meeting.
