A ministerial delegation from Bulgaria, who is paying a working visit to Greece, received today at the Maximos Palace the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
The delegation is headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Vassilev had the following dialogue:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I’m glad to welcome you here. I made some remarks on the situation in Ukraine, as well as remarks on the crucial issue of gas supply.
We are ready to support Bulgaria in every possible way to overcome what we consider to be a short-term crisis.
Of course, we are working together to complete the Greece-Bulgaria interconnection pipeline (IGB) as soon as possible, which – as we know – is particularly important for Bulgaria, so that you can diversify your gas supply sources.
So once again, welcome to Greece.
Assen Vassilev: Thank you very much for the warm welcome. We are particularly concerned about the crisis in Ukraine, but also about the ensuing energy crisis. We believe that there should be compliance with international law. It is being violated at the moment, I would say, in a very brutal way.
We are also willing to work together with Greece and help with the issue of electricity supply, to guarantee that there will be no power outages. But also to prepare all the plans that we intend to discuss in the context of cooperation between the two countries, such as the issue of North – South connectivity which is vital for Europe.
Also, as you mentioned, we will discuss the connectivity and integration of energy systems as well as other projects that have been the subject of dialogue for years, such as the issue of border crossings, which we hope to complete, as well as ensuring the facilitation of goods flows and of movement of persons.
During the meeting, the excellent level of Greek-Bulgarian relations and the mutual will for their further deepening were underlined. It is noted that Kyriakos Mitsotakis was the first leader of an EU member state to pay an official visit to Bulgaria after the formation of the new government and met with the new Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov, on December 20, 2021.
During today’s meeting, the Prime Minister underlined the opportunities for cooperation presented in programs of connectivity of energy infrastructure, transport and digital networks with added value, not only for Greece and Bulgaria, but also for the wider region.
During the meeting, the common support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans was emphasized.
The latest worrying developments in Ukraine were also discussed.
On behalf of the government, the meeting was attended by the Minister of State Akis Skertsos, the Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of Economic Diplomacy and Extroversion, Costas Frangogiannis, the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister, Deputy Chief of Staff, Ambassador Maria Boura and the Deputy Government Representative Aristotle Peloni.
Mr. Vassilev is accompanied in Athens and the meeting was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Effective Administration, Kalina Konstantinova, the Minister of Digital Governance, Bozhidar Bozhanov, the Minister of Energy, Alexander Nikolov and the Deputy Prime Minister, Borlavena. The Ambassador of Bulgaria to Greece, Valentin Poriazov, was also present at the meeting.
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