The message that they are always busy USA the Greece’s security concerns and it is something that he takes very, very seriously, the US Secretary of State broadcast from Athens Anthony Blinken.

Speaking to the television station “Mega”, in the context of his visit to Greece, he expressed the hope, in the first phase, that “Greece and Turkey will keep the waters as calm as possible and perhaps in the coming months there will be an opportunity to further strengthen dialogue, diplomacy and the effort to resolve issues that are betweens”.

He explained that for the US this is very important, “because both Greece and Turkey are close allies, close allies, close friends and we want to see them come closer».

If they do this, he estimated that “the opportunities that will arise will be amazing for both countries”. Additionally, he expressed the belief that with good will and good faith on both sides, there is always room for improvement, dispute management and resolution.

Continuing in the same vein, he said the US encourages all friends to engage diplomatically to resolve their differences peacefully and not to engage in provocative actions or provocative rhetoric that could create problems even unintentionally.

“Threatening rhetoric and threatening actions are not something we support. The opposite. And we continue to believe that our partners can achieve more through direct diplomatic efforts to resolve what divides them.he announced.

He noted that the fact that Greece immediately rushed to help those in need in Turkey has played an important role in touching the hearts of the Turks.

Referring to his visit to Turkey, Anthony Blinken said that one of the things he was told in the neighboring country is how important it was that so many Greeks and so much help came from Greece in their time of need. “I think that creates a better atmosphere, but look: It’s election season in Greece and Turkey and that always complicates things,” he noted.

Regarding his contacts in Turkey, the feeling he got is that “there is definitely an interest and a will to find ways to move forward more productively.”

The head of the State Department made a special reference to the defense cooperation between Greece and the USA.

“Especially in recent years, our defense cooperation has deepened and strengthened. We have the defense cooperation agreement that we revised just last year and as a consequence of which, among other things, more than 100 million dollars were invested in upgrading Greek ports. At the same time, a large modernization program of the Greek F16s is underway. More than 80 Greek F16s are being upgraded and I expect more to follow, and in addition, Greece wishes to acquire F35s, which we support. Our cooperation has reached an amazing level. Of course we have new places where we collaborate educationally and operationally».

In this light, he reiterated that the US is always concerned about Greece’s security concerns and that a program to modernize the Greek F16s is underway and the F35s are on the horizon.

Furthermore, he gave special importance to the energy role of Greece as a hub between Europe and North Africa. “Greece plays an important role in regional energy diversification” he explained and expressed the belief that the future will bring it an even greater role.

Finally, referring to Ukraine, US Secretary of State he said that what Greece has already done is remarkable, as it is one of the first countries to stand up for its defense against the Russian invasion, for the defense of the basic principles that are so important for the maintenance of world peace and security, as reflected in the UN Charter.

As he characteristically underlined, Greece took a position with dynamism and continues to do so. Also, answering a related question, he said that “it is in all of our interests to continue as much as we can to maximize our support for Ukraine, to strengthen its position, in the hope that when the time finally comes to negotiate it will be in the strongest possible position».