Zelenskyy Holds Talks At Balkan Summit In Athens

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held talks with leaders of a number of western Balkan nations as well as Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis as part of a Balkan summit held in Athens on 21-22 August. The talks on 21 August focused on Balkan states' efforts to join the EU amid some consternation that Moldova and Ukraine appear to be 'leapfrogging' countries with longer accession processes such as Bosnia-Herzegovina.

• Zelenskyy stated that he held "open, honest and fruitful" conversations with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Serbia has historically been viewed as the Balkan nation with the closest ties to Russia, but in June the FT reported that in something of a westward pivot, Belgrade did not push back on claims that its ammunition was reaching Ukrainian forces via intermediaries.
• Vučić, along with the other Balkan leaders, agreed to the 'Athens Declaration' at the summit, which talks explicitly of 'Russian aggression' and 'unwavering support for Ukraine', highlighting Serbia's notable leaning away from Moscow.
• After speaking to Mitsotakis, Zelenskyy posted on X: "Greece joined the aviation coalition: it will train our pilots to fly F-16s. Greece is also preparing a new military aid package for Ukraine....We discussed Greece’s participation in Ukraine’s recovery, including the possibility of Greece taking patronage over the recovery of Odesa."