Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday highlighted Cyprus’ proximity to the Middle East as he welcomed German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to Athens ahead of Tuesday’s Defence Exhibition Athens.

“Welcome to Athens. You are coming at a time of great turmoil, so we have a lot to discuss. We are, along with Cyprus, the country closest to what is happening in the Middle East,” he said.

He then added that Greece “certainly has a very strong interest in ensuring that this situation is resolved peacefully as soon as possible, especially with regard to maintaining freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.

Greece maintains this interest, he said, “not only as a European country, but also as a leading maritime country”.

“We consider it imperative that no precedent be set, not only in the region, but also globally, ad I am very interested in hearing your thoughts on the next steps,” he said.

He added that Greece maintains “constructive relations with all the countries in the region”, and that this “makes us reliable ‘bridge builders”.

“Of course, in order to get to the point where we start building bridges, we must first get past the point where we are blowing them up,” he said, before adding that “ensuring that we get to a point where diplomacy takes precedence is … a shared priority” for both Greece and Germany.

Wadephul, meanwhile, said that in view of Greece’s forthcoming term as the holder of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency during the second half of next year, “we must intensify our efforts so that the European Union is able to address all the threats and challenges that we face”.

Tuesday’s Defence Exhibition Athens will also be attended by President Nikos Christodoulides, who was to travel to Athens directly from Monday’s European Political Community summit in Yerevan.

He is expected to hold meetings with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and European Defence Commissioner Andreas Kubilius while there.