Iohannis received the Greek Prime Minister: I'm sorry you had such a scare in Odessa
President Klaus Iohannis received on Wednesday at the Cotroceni Palace the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis who came directly from Odessa where there had taken place several explosions."I apologise for the attire, I didn't have time to change," Mitsotakis told the Romanian head of state when he greeted him.
"I'm glad you are well, Kyriakos. I'm sorry you had such a scare in Odessa," Iohannis replied, after which the Greek prime minister added: "Yes, it was ... strange."
Iohannis sent on the X platform that he had discussed with the Greek premier about security aspects, from an allied perspective, bilateral economic relations and about the necessity to improve regional connectivity and ensure EU energy security including through the Initiative of the Three Seas.
The Greek premier is in Bucharest to take part in the Congress of the European People’s Party which ends on Thursday.
Before the meeting at Cotroceni, Klaus Iohannis condemned, in a message on the same social media platform the attack in the area of Odessa produced during the meeting the Ukrainian president, Volodmir Zelenski was having with premier Mitsotakis.
"I strongly condemn the attack in Odessa during the meeting of Ukraine's President @ZelenskyyUa & Greece's PM @kmitsotakis. We express our full solidarity with the Ukrainian people and we reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes," Iohannis wrote on X platform on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, several explosions were recorded less than 200 metres from the official convoy of vehicles carrying the Ukrainian president and the Greek prime minister before they met in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, a port city on the Black Sea, reports EFE.
According to Greek TV SKAI private television broadcaster, the explosions were caused by a Russian drone strike. Immediately after the explosions, the vehicles carrying the Greek delegation were diverted from their planned route, according to instructions from the Ukrainian authorities, reports the same station.
It is unclear whether the drones hit a specific target or exploded after being shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft, as the incident occurred during a wider Russian drone and missile attack on targets in the Odessa area.