Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to arrive in Rome on Wednesday afternoon to meet with his Italian counterpart, Mario Draghi.
The meeting has been scheduled for 20:30 (Athens time) at the emblematic Palazzo Chigi. Earlier in the day (at 11:00), Mitsotakis will meet with the Minister of Industry and High Technology of the United Arab Emirates, Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, at the Maximos Mansion in Athens.
Greek-Turkish relations are on the table
Among other pressing subjects, the two leaders are expected to discuss the current state of affairs with Turkey. Although Athens does not wish for the topic of Greek-Turkish relations to dominate the discussion and overshadow the prime-minister's visit to Rome, the ongoing developments in the Eastern Mediterranean render it impossible to turn a blind eye and ignore the elephant in the room.
It is worth noting that, while Mario Draghi seems to harbor little tolerance for Erdogan, he has nonetheless expressed his intention to reopen the France-Turkey-Italy cooperation platform, in pursuit of his country's interest. Draghi is set to visit Turkey in early July.
According to government sources, the Greek PM will also raise the issue of Ankara's aggression and inflammatory remarks on Thursday, at the EU Summit in Brussels. In light of the widely denounced Russian invasion of Ukraine, Greece will seize the opportunity to elicit condemnation of the Turkish president's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s revisionist policy, expansionist vision and threats against territorial integrity.