The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine responded to the official demarche of Greece expressed in connection with the incident with a naval drone. A statement on the social network X on April 5 was published by the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Georgiy Tikhy.
A Ukrainian surface drone near the Greek island of Lefkada in the Ionian Sea was discovered on May 7. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said Greece demands an apology and “absolute guarantees” that something like this will never happen again.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded.
“Following the incident with a naval drone discovered near the Greek island of Lefkada, the Ukrainian side expresses gratitude to Greece and the Greek people for their unwavering support for our country since the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion. Ukraine highly values its friendly relations with Greece. Since the current challenges to international and regional security, in particular maritime security and the activities of the Russian “shadow fleet”, are of common concern to both Greece and Ukraine, Ukraine emphasizes its commitment rules of international law and the principles of civil maritime security and notes its interest in preventing such incidents in the future. In this context, the Ukrainian side apologizes for the incident and emphasizes that it was the result of circumstances caused by the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Tikhy wrote.
He expressed his conviction that this incident, like similar cases in other regions, demonstrates the threat from the ongoing war of the aggressor country Russia not only to Ukraine, but also to “neighboring friendly states, Europe and the world as a whole.” Tikhy emphasized that Ukraine remains committed to further deepening friendly relations with Greece and developing constructive dialogue in all areas of mutual interest.
