PM Mitsotakis reiterates support for Ukraine at Washington NATO summit

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated NATO’s support for Ukraine in his first comment upon arrival at the NATO summit in Washington on Wednesday

“We celebrate the creation of the most resilient alliance in the world,” said Mitsotakis, adding that the meeting takes place at a time of great challenges.

“We will continue to support Ukraine,” he emphasized.

“This is a time when the NATO alliance must face a series of complex challenges and it is also a time when we must reaffirm our commitment to spending at least 2% of our GDP on defense expenditures,” stated the Greek Prime Minister, adding that European countries must “align defense spending to further strengthen the NATO alliance.”

“We don’t need to spend more, we need to spend smarter,” he said.

Mitsotakis’ comments came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands, stating that “they will fly in Ukraine’s skies this summer.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is also in Washington, said he expects decisions on new deliveries of F-16 aircraft to his country to be made today.

Reuters reported that NATO members agreed on a draft joint statement, which includes the commitment to continue supporting Ukraine towards its “irreversible” path to NATO membership and states that an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance will be extended when “allies agree and conditions are met.”