ATHENS 

There can be no solution for Ukraine without Ukrainians being involved, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Mitsotakis remarked: “We need peace through strength. Obviously, there can be no solution for Ukraine without the Ukrainians being involved. And, of course, there can be no security arrangement for Europe without the Europeans also being involved.”

Against this background, he added: “Europe also needs to come up and emerge with a unified voice. And we also need to do what is expected from us in order to commit to our own security, not just Ukraine's security.”

Underlining that the EU needs to spend more on defense, Mitsotakis said: "We need more fiscal flexibility when it comes to the European rules to allow us to spend more on defense without breaching the European expenditure rule.”

As to the announcement by US President Donald Trump for tariffs on automotive imports, which is feared to be part of comprehensive tariffs on all imports from the EU, the Greek premier noted that the union does not want to get involved in a tariff war against the US.

However, Mitsotakis warned that the union is going to respond to a full-scale tariff war by the US.

“I think we still have time to avoid that. I think it would be bad for both our economies, both the European economy and the American economy,” he said.