In front of the international community Germanyin connection with the critical meeting at the Ramstein military base and the decision to send heavy weapons to Ukraine from Berlin, a reception was held yesterday by the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou from Olaf Soltz in the impressive Chancellery building in Berlin. This was their first meeting since Mr. Saltz had asked her to meet during his last trip to Athens, but she was not in Thessaloniki. The fact that Greek-German contacts have intensified, and even in such difficult times for Berlin, is in itself an extremely encouraging signal for the level of bilateral relations.

The excellent level of relations was confirmed at the meeting in the office and President of the Republic expressed satisfaction with the frequency of high-level contacts between the two countries. Regarding the war in Ukraine, he stressed that every effort must be made to ensure that the European Union remains united in condemning the illegal Russian invasion.

With regard to Turkey, he emphasized Greece’s firm position that the only means of resolving interstate disputes is dialogue based on international law, and said that our country especially appreciates Germany’s attitude towards Turkish threats, which is combined with inflammatory rhetoric of an unprecedented level.

The President of the Republic expressed Greece’s full support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans, emphasizing that this issue should be a priority for the EU.

Ms. Sakellaropoulou also made it clear that it is very important for Greece to deal effectively with immigration and refugee issues, respecting human rights and avoiding their instrumentalization.

Ms. Sakellaropoulou’s visit to Berlin marks a special moment as German public opinion is divided over the issue of the Leopard mission in Ukraine, while voices are growing louder even from the country’s top statesmen who believe that Kyiv’s overarmament leads to a protracted stalemate in the conflict. At the same time, however, Russian revisionism and its violent evolution make Germany more critical of Turkish inflammatory rhetoric and undermine the observance of equidistance from Athens and Ankara, which was also observed during Mr. Soltz’s last visit to Greece. Germany insists on attributing Turkish provocations to the pre-election period that the country is going through, but at the same time is concerned about the possibility of election speeches by senior officials of the ruling party of the AKP, including Tayyip Erdogan himself, in German cities.