Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with Bloomberg that the decision to end the war cannot be taken without Ukraine and the active involvement of the EU. 

Asked who could represent the Union at the peace negotiating table with US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin , Mitsotakis stressed that it was urgent for the EU to have a united voice on Ukraine and that a high-ranking European official with strong authority should be appointed.

Regarding the processes related to the strengthening of the common European defence, the Greek prime minister warned that "there is no more time to waste". He said that the upcoming European Council in March in Brussels should decide on activating the safeguard clause so that the EU could gain "greater budgetary flexibility without breaking budgetary rules".

The prime minister recalled that Greece spends more than 3% of its GDP on defence. He reiterated that when the US President calls on European leaders to take more responsibility for their defence, he is essentially right.

Mitsotakis expressed the view that the implementation of common European defence plans, such as the European missile shield, will require a combination of European and national resources.

"We don't want to get involved in a trade war with the US, but if unilateral tariffs are imposed on European products, Europe is obliged to respond. I am cautiously optimistic that we will avoid this scenario, as it will be detrimental for both economies", the Greek prime minister stressed regarding Trump's statements on imposing tariffs on European products.

Referring to the seismic activity that has plagued the island of Santorini for weeks, Mitsotakis said that "Greece is a safe country" and "we will soon return to normality". | BGNES