State Department: Greece’s critical role in defending NATO’s southeastern flank

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The specific position of Mr. Patel came in response to a question from a Turkish journalist, who asked to know what is the reaction of the US to the fact that Nikos Dendias refused to disembark in Tripoli in order not to meet the Libyan foreign minister and then went to Benghazi, where he met with Khalifa Haftar.

The United States sees Greece as an indispensable partner and a key NATO ally that plays a critical role in defending the alliance’s southeastern flank, State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel noted during the regular briefing of diplomatic correspondents.

The specific position of Mr. Patel came in response to a question from a Turkish journalist, who asked to know what is the reaction of the US to the fact that Nikos Dendias refused to disembark in Tripoli in order not to meet the Libyan foreign minister and then went to Benghazi, where he met with Khalifa Haftar.

Although the State Department spokesman noted that he was not aware of the incident, the Turkish journalist came back asking if it is in line with US policy that Greece is supporting Haftar and not the Tripoli government. However, to this question too, Vedant Patel repeated the same answer, adding that Greece helps the US achieve its goals both in the Mediterranean and in Europe.

As he stated, “what I would simply say, as I have no concrete reaction to offer, is that Greece is an essential partner and key US ally in NATO, playing an important role in protecting NATO’s southeastern flank, but also helping USA to achieve their goals both in the immediate Mediterranean region and more broadly in Europe”.

RES-EMP

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