Europe must lead on Ukrainian security guarantees, Greek foreign minister says: 'We are the neighbors'

Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis told Fox News Digital in an interview that he believes Europe should take the lead on Ukraine's security guarantees. 

Gerapetritis, who was in the U.S. to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said the most important order of business was to "stop the hostilities." 

"The day after will give the opportunity for considerations about reconstruction and about the security guarantees," he said. 

"We are the neighbors, and we have to take the responsibility for these," Gerapetritis went on. "We need backing up from the United States, it's important that the United States remain, involved, but, of course, Europe should have the major stake."

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The interview took place Friday just as a high-tempered spat in the Oval Office broke out and peace negotiations were brought to an abrupt halt when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly brought up the need for the U.S. to offer Ukraine security guarantees to stop a future Russian attack. 

President Donald Trump and his administration have insisted that it must be Europe who commits to Ukraine’s defense if Russia were to invade again, but Zelenskyy has insisted European security guarantees are pointless without the U.S. 

However, Trump officials have told Zelenskyy to read between the lines on the proposed mineral deal: if the U.S. has major financial interests in Ukraine, it will not allow a war with Russia to threaten them. 

Zelenskyy, after being escorted out of the White House on Friday following his spat with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, said Sunday he would still be willing to sign the mineral deal. 

Gerapetritis boasted that Greece had boosted its defense spending to 3% of GDP, surpassing NATO’s 2% target. 

"We have urged all our allies to increase their spending," he said. "We need to go into a collective defense of Europe." 

However, Greek-owned oil tankers have been a key enabler of Russia’s oil trade. The Kyiv School of Economics has identified 126 vessels that originated with Greek owners and now make up Russia’s "shadow fleet," ships it uses to export oil and hide from western sanctions. 

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Gerapetritis said Greece is working with the rest of the European Union on addressing the issue. 

"We are imposing not only the sanctions imposed by the European Union, but also, [our own] national sanctions. We are having a very strict monitoring mechanism. The truth is that we need to close any gaps concerning potential bypasses … We're working on these with allies within the European Union."

Amid increasingly hostile words between the U.S. and Europe, Gerapetritis planned to use his visit to patch up the transatlantic alliance. 

"It is important that the, transatlantic relations remain, intact. Remain strong. United, we do have a lot more leverage to actually, deal with multiple crises, which is the new normality. So we have to stay together."

Ukraine was top of mind for Gerapetritidis’ meeting with Rubio on Friday, though the foreign ministers planned to discuss a slew of security issues. 

One topic of discussion was expected to be thwarting China’s influence, and Gerapetritis boasted of a new alliance with India to do just that. 

New Delhi is hoping to reach European markets by establishing a corridor that runs through Greece, as a way to counter the Port of Piraeus, which China has used as a gateway to Europe through Greece. 

"This major plan is, I think, an excellent project. In order to diversify the routes concerning transport, concerning data, concerning energy," he said. "We are very likeminded with the United States when it comes to foreign and security policy."

In Syria, which, like Greece, is home to many Orthodox Christians, Gerapetritis remains skeptical of the new government, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, and said sanctions should be lifted slowly and with the ability to snap them back into place if the governing entity returns to its terrorist roots. 

"We suggest that we need to have a release on these sanctions. But that should take place mostly on a gradual basis. We need to see how it goes."

Gerapetritis said he would also be discussing Iran with Rubio. 

"Iran and its proxies are operating in the broader region. We have the Houthis operating in the Red sea. This is a serious danger for the maritime security. And we're very concerned with maritime security globally," he said.