Kyriakos Mitsotakis underlined the importance of the continuation of the initiative that Greece took first by organizing the first Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit on August 21, 2023, during his address to the Plenary of the 3rd Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit, in Dubrovnik.

The prime minister emphasized that, as underlined at the time by the Joint Declaration of Athens adopted by the leaders, the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova have a common European history and a common European future, while he added that it is important that candidate countries and member states, despite their differences, sit at the table and exchange views.

Mr. Mitsotakis, referring to Ukraine, noted that this war concerns the whole world. Referring to the Ukraine Peace Conference, hosted in Switzerland in June, he noted that it confirmed broad support for a just peace in Ukraine. He added that Greece is ready to support Ukraine in its next steps.

He pointed out that the geopolitical situation and the security situation in Europe make enlargement imperative, and called on the candidate countries to respect the fundamental European values ​​and implement the required reforms for their accession perspective.

The Declaration of Dubrovnik

“We, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as co-organizers, as well as President Vjosa Osmani, President Jakov Milatović, President Aleksandar Vučić, President Nataša Pirc Musar, Prime Minister Edi Rama, Prime Minister Borjana Krišto , Prime Minister Dimitar Glavčev, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Mihai Popșoi, Foreign Minister Luminița-Teodora Odobescu, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica met on October 9, 2024 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, for the third time in the framework of the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit.

The proceedings of today’s meeting are based on the discussions and conclusions of the first and second Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summits, held in Athens, Greece on 21 August 2023 and in Tirana, Albania on 28 February 2024, respectively.

Today, as participants in the Dubrovnik Summit, we adopt the following Declaration:

1. It has been nearly 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine began. We condemn this unprovoked, unjustified and illegal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. Russia’s war of aggression constitutes a crime against the Ukrainian people, a flagrant violation of International Law, including the United Nations Charter, and a major threat to the peace, security and stability of Southeast Europe, the entire European continent and the world in whole of it.

2. Our support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders remains absolute. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to provide continued multifaceted support to Ukraine and its people for as long as needed.

3. We express our respect and support to the Ukrainian people, who have been resisting Russia’s armed aggression since 2014 with courage, resilience and heroism.

4. Based on the Joint Declaration of the First Parliamentary Summit of the International Platform for Crimea, adopted in Zagreb on October 25, 2022, and the results of the 4th Summit of the International Platform for Crimea, held in Kyiv on September 11 2024, we emphasize our unwavering commitment to restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, through further providing comprehensive support to Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.

5. We fully support the results of the Peace Summit in Ukraine, held in Switzerland in June 2024. The path to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine can only be based on International Law, including the Charter of United Nations. In this regard, we reaffirm our support for the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula as an essential framework for restoring such peace. We express our support for Ukraine’s efforts in this direction and emphasize our readiness to actively participate in the implementation of the points of the Peace Formula.

6. We call on the entire International Community, as part of its efforts to restore international peace and security, to intensify its support to Ukraine in its ongoing struggle for freedom, independence and territorial integrity. At the same time, we call on all countries not to provide material or other support to Russia’s war of aggression. We recalled the importance of alignment with the decisions and measures of the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.

7. We emphasize that any form of attack against a sovereign state is unacceptable. All countries must refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity, sovereignty or political independence of any state. In this context, we underline that the withdrawal of Russian troops and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine, the cessation of hostilities and the restoration of full Ukrainian control over its state borders are non-negotiable conditions for the restoration of peace.

8. We condemn in the most categorical manner any attempt by Russia to annex parts of the territory of Ukraine by the use of force and illegally. Such efforts are a flagrant violation of International Law, including the United Nations Charter, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions are integral parts of Ukraine. In this context, we consider the so-called “elections” held by Russia in March and September 2024 on Ukrainian soil to be invalid.

9. We reiterate our determination to step up our joint efforts to ensure further progress and mutual support to our South East European partners, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, on their path to EU membership based on meritocracy . The accession of these new members to the European Union is the best guarantee of regional stability, security and prosperity. We welcome the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine, as well as with Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Moldova.

10. We welcome the fact that, at the NATO Summit in Washington, the Allies reiterated their commitment to continue to support Ukraine on its irreversible path towards full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership.

11. We reiterate our unwavering commitment to bring to justice those responsible for the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

12. We note Ukraine’s ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as an important step towards justice for the most serious crimes of concern to the International Community and emphasize the importance of ensuring the Court’s ability to fully exercise its jurisdiction.

13. We agree to continue to cooperate and focus our efforts on the release of all prisoners of war, illegal detainees, and the return of all illegally deported and forcibly relocated Ukrainians, especially children.

14. We agree that the issues of food security and demining intersect and reinforce each other. Following the conclusions of the International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine, which took place in Zagreb on 11 and 12 October 2023, we discussed demining in the context of Ukraine’s recovery, as the critical first step for the safe return of people and continuation of economic and agricultural activity. Food security should not be instrumentalized. Ukrainian agricultural products should be provided safely and freely to the countries concerned. In this light, free, full and safe commercial navigation, in accordance with International Law, as well as access to seaports in the Black and Azov seas is of critical importance. Attacks against merchant ships in ports and along the entire route, as well as against civilian ports and civilian port infrastructure are unacceptable.

15. We underline the critical importance of Ukraine’s energy security, especially considering the coming winter. Ukrainian power plants and the energy grid continue to suffer massive damage as a result of Russia’s systematic and deliberate attacks. Today, we considered options for intensifying our efforts—including further mobilizing the private sector—to provide Ukraine with the equipment and funding needed to mitigate the consequences. We also highlight the need for more coordination and planning at the regional level and for effective electrical interconnections in order to absorb the economic impact of the damage caused by Russia’s attacks.

16. We also emphasize that any use of nuclear energy and nuclear facilities must be safe, secure and environmentally sound. In this context, we emphasize that the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant must return to full sovereign control of Ukraine and operate safely and securely, in accordance with the seven essential pillars and the five specific principles of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and under its supervision.

17. We express our commitment to continue to participate in the current and post-war recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine in order to enable the Ukrainian people to rebuild their country, involving all relevant partners, including private companies and international financial institutions, with the aim of securing the financial support, investment and expertise needed to ensure a prosperous future for Ukraine.

18. There cannot be a free, peaceful and prosperous Europe without a free, peaceful and prosperous Ukraine. The commitment of the participants of the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Dubrovnik to this goal remains unwavering.”