By Penelope Galliou

Just twenty-four hours before the arrival of the American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Athens next Monday (20/2), with Turkey and Ankara as his first stop, the Kyriakos Mitsotakis participates today in the 59th Munich Security Conference.

The conference also known as “Davos for Defense” as it is the most important and largest conference in the world for issues related to defense, security, but also foreign relations between states and has been organized since 1963.

A conference that acquires an even more upgraded and crucial character given the conditions it has created Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the new geopolitical conditions that are taking shape.

Being present at the conference in question with all the “strong playersworldwide, as dozens of heads of state, heads of international organizations, diplomats and high-ranking military officers attend every year, the Greek prime minister aims to highlight the role of Greece as a pillar of stability, peace and security in the region, as a provider of energy security, as a reliable partner and ally in the new geopolitical landscape shaped by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In this climate, the meeting that Kyriakos Mitsotakis will have with his 17-member cross-party delegation is of particular importance US Congress (16 Senators and one Congressman) under Senator Lindsey Graham. Also present at the meeting are expected to be, among others, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Robert Menendez and Senator Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and strong supporters of Greek positions in the American political scene.

The meeting of the Greek Prime Minister with the American delegationwill be held just 24 hours before the arrival of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Athens – with whom the Prime Minister will have a meeting on Monday evening, shortly before the opening of the fourth round of the Greece-US Strategic Dialogue on Tuesday, which is expected to confirm the excellent level of Greek-American relations and the bipartisan recognition that exists in the American Congress for the strategic importance of Greece.

In fact, during the interview that the Prime Minister granted on public television, he referred to his upcoming meeting with the American Secretary of State and spoke of the “better time” that the Greek-American relations are going through, with the USA recognizing in Greece the important role it plays in the wider region of the Southeast Mediterranean as a pillar of peace and stability.

He clarified, once again, that Greece’s relations with the USA “they are not mutually exclusive“.

The Prime Minister’s program also includes a speech in the afternoon in a discussion on Immigration under the title “Rebooting Immigration: Moving to Opportunities”, while the same discussion panel will also feature the EU Home Affairs Commissioner. Ylva Johansson, Tunisian Prime Minister Nazla Boudin and Veronica Escobar, member of the US House of Representatives.

During its installation, Kyriakos Mitsotakis he is expected to repeat that migration is a European issue, insisting that a European solution is needed and as also stated during the recent Summit of European Leaders, he is expected to repeat the need to support the frontline countries that protect the borders of the EU.

Needs that reflect the basic Greek positions on the issue of immigration and are concentrated in the need to protect its external borders EU. as well as cooperation with third countries.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ schedule also includes meetings with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, while this evening he will address the Greeks of Germany at an ND event.​