Greek president, defense chief arrive in Ukraine for talks in support of Kyiv

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - In a show of support for Ukraine, Greece's president and defense chief arrived in the capital Kyiv on Thursday for talks with their counterparts in the war-hit country, Greek media reported.

An initial one-on-one meeting is expected between President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the daily Kathimerini, with Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos to hold talks, as well.

The visit, which comes after recent Russia drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian critical infrastructure, was not announced in advance for security reasons, according to the report.

In June, Greece and Germany agreed on an arms swap deal for Ukraine, according to Greek media reports.

Based on the deal, Athens will send older BMP-1 armored combat vehicles to Ukraine from its own stock, and Berlin in return will deliver newer Marder 1A3s to Greece, according to the AMNA news agency..

The deal was announced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the end of a two-day meeting of EU leaders in Brussels.