United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived at Chania, Crete, on Saturday afternoon, to meet with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis will also be present in the meeting.
Earlier, Blinken had a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul.
The Greek prime minister welcomed the US Secretary of State to his residence in Chania and welcomed him referring to the place they met as it symbolizes the depth of the strategic partnership.
“I am very happy to welcome you at a time when I honestly feel that our bilateral relationship is probably at the best it has ever been. These are difficult and challenging times for the region. It is incredibly important for us to stand by side by side, not just to work to strengthen the relationship further, but also to act as allies and to ensure that peace and stability return to our region. So again, it is a real pleasure to welcome you,” Mitsotakis underlined.
On his part, Blinken said: “I also have to agree strongly with you about the relationship between our countries. I have been doing this now for 30 years and, as I was saying to our Ambassador George Tsunis, I don’t remember a time when the relationship, the partnership, the friendship between the United States and Greece was stronger.
The reason we are stronger has to do with the affinity between our people. But it also has to do with tge leadership, and in particular, your leadership. We are facing some of the most acute challenges that we have seen, but the fact that we are standing together, that we are working together, whether it is in defense of Ukraine, whether it is for peace and stability in the Mediterranean, whether it is dealing with the situation in the Middle East, Gaza, and so many other ways, that is a tremendous source of strength and reassurance for the United States.
I know we have a lot to talk about. And really, that is why I am here. Your voice, your views, your counsel, your partnership, mean a lot to the United States.”
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