"As a country on the external borders of the Alliance, we welcome the ceasefire achieved by US President Donald Trump between Israel and Iran. I want to underline, however, that permanent solutions can only be achieved through active diplomacy. We should also not ignore the need to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, so that humanitarian aid can have access. It is also encouraging that an agreement was reached for a significant increase in defence spending among the Alliance member states. I have long argued that Europe must significantly increase its defence spending. We, as Greece, exceeded 2% even in difficult times for us. I hope that all partners will rise to the occasion," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday, upon his arrival at the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands.

Asked about this, Mitsotakis explained that Greece already exceeds 3% of GDP in terms of defence spending and that it will achieve the target of 3.5% + 1.5% by 2035. "We plan to spend over 25 billion euros on defence in the next 12 years," he said, adding that "the goal is a fair distribution of burdens, so that there are no injustices. I hope that this goal is binding for all our NATO partners."