Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has urged British Premier Boris Johnson to revise the United Kingdom's travel restrictions so that Greece can get British tourists who are a big market.

The UK has Greece on its so-called Ambert List which means that anyone who wants to come will quarantine for 10 days on return and take two reserved COVID-19 tests while they are, a huge disincentive to travel.

Mitsotakis spoke to Johnson ahead of NATO meeting in Brussels, and told him of the “improving epidemiological picture in Greece, expressing the view that this permits a lifting of restrictions for British tourists visiting the country on holiday, while asking that the UK not discriminate between different European countries,” said a statement from the Greek Premier's office.

Greece was opened to tourists on May 15 and is expecting a July surge in visitors who will be allowed in only if they are fully vaccinated, have a negative PCR test or proof they have recovered from the Coronavirus.

Mitsotakis also talked with Johnson “on recent developments in Greek-Turkish relations and stressed the need for the de-escalation in tension so as to establish trust and allow dialogue,” method which has often failed.

Greek-Albanian relations and the European course of the Western Balkans – for which Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated Greece's steadfast support – were the focus of a meeting between the Greek premier and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama before the start of NATO's Summit in Brussels.

The two premiers agreed that after the general elections in Albania, the two countries are ready to speed up negotiations on an arbitration agreement for reaching a settlement on the delimitation of their respective maritime zones via the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

Government sources said that Rama thanked the prime minister for the free offer of 20,000 vaccines that were delivered on Monday to Albania.

On his part, Mitsotakis reiterated Greece's timeless and steadfast interest in the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania, as well as Albania's progress in the fields of human rights and rule of law, which are among the prerequisites EU has demanded from Albania for progress in its accession talks.

Finally, Mitsotakis congratulated Rama on Albania's election as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2022-2023.