Olaf Scholz: Surprise visit to Thessaloniki and meeting with the Prime Minister

Chancellor Olaf Scholz will arrive in Thessaloniki next Friday, who, according to the announcement of the Deputy Government Spokesman Wolfgang Buchner, will attend, at the invitation of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a dinner within the framework of the European Court of Justice. which will take place in Greece’s second largest city.

Mr. Solz will spend the night in Thessaloniki, from where the next day he will go to Northern Macedonia and then to Bulgaria. Mr Soltz will visit Kosovo and Serbia on Friday.

The German Foreign Minister in Athens on Wednesday

German Foreign Minister Analena Berbok will arrive in Athens on Wednesday, where she will be received by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while meeting with her counterpart Nikos Dendias and representatives of civil society. Ms. Berbok will travel to Ankara the next day to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu and representatives of civil society and the economy.

The visit of the German Chancellor comes a few days after the announcement of cooperation between Berlin and Athens for the shipment of weapons to Ukraine. As it has become known, Greece will provide BMP-1 armored combat vehicles in order to be sent to Ukraine, which will be replaced by an equal number of German-made Marder Combat Vehicles.

Olaf Scholz’s visit comes amid strained relations between Greece and Turkey, with Tayyip Erdogan questioning sovereignty over the Greek islands and attacking Germany over statements of support in Athens. We remind you that the Deputy Government Spokesman of Germany, Wolfgang Bichner, sent a clear message to Turkey, noting that “the questioning of the sovereignty of EU member states can not be accepted by us. We argue that problems are solved through talks and not through escalation of tensions. “