At a time of geopolitical upheaval, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is preparing for a busy schedule of international contacts in the coming days, while next week there will be a full debate in parliament on Greece‘s decade-long arms program.

Starting today, Mitsotakis will be in Paris, where he will participate in the Leaders’ Summit for Peace and Security in Ukraine, organized at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron.

The summit is attended by the majority of EU leaders and the NATO secretary general, and there is a sense in the Greek government that we are on the verge of a compromise, but Russia is not making its final decisions. Also, in a delicate negotiation process, the devil is always in the details, and it remains to be seen what the security status for Ukraine will be after a peace deal.

Greece’s position is clear: it supports a peace agreement, not just a ceasefire, and it does not intend to participate with troops in a new security regime in Ukraine that would involve European countries.

Mitsotakis will remain in Paris tonight, as he will be back at the Elysee Palace on Friday morning, this time for the France-Greece-Cyprus-Lebanon quadrilateral.

PM Mitsotakis had been in Lebanon in December, shortly after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, and had met PM Mr Aoun, who was at the time the head of Lebanon’s armed forces. It is a given that Greece wants to play an active role and have an active view of what is happening in the Middle East, given its historical relations with many of these countries.

It should be noted that during his visit, Mitsotakis had stated Greece’s readiness.

Greece-Israel alliance

Concluding his important contacts, Mitsotakis plans to be in Jerusalem on Sunday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister and Israeli President.

Mitsotakis has a close political and personal relationship with Mr Netanyahu and it is clear that Greece is invested in the strategic relationship with Israel, which after all has a very close relationship with the US and especially with the Trump administration. One could say that the relationship with Israel is currently a “passport” for relations with Washington as well.

The strengthening of the relationship comes at a time when Turkey is attempting to throw “bridges” to Washington to get back into the US arms programs. Programs, of course, that go through critical congressional committees beyond the White House. Weeks ago, Secretary of State George Gerapetritis had, not coincidentally, targeted contacts with senior members of these committees.

The entire spectrum of bilateral relations is expected to be discussed at the Mitsotakis-Netanyahu meeting, with an emphasis on defense cooperation and regional developments focusing on the Eastern Mediterranean and Syria. Notably, Israel also has a crucial role in the Great Sea Interconnector electricity interconnection cable project.