In a statement for the 15th of August celebration, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said from Chania where he is:

“Today we celebrate the fifteenth of August faithful to our traditions. The fifteenth of August, the important holiday of Orthodoxy gives us all hope and strength to face great difficulties.

It is the day our Armed Forces celebrate which we are constantly strengthening, which is necessary in the troubled times we live in.

I want to say thanks again all the staff of the state apparatus and all the volunteers who fought very hard battles with the flames in Attica in the last few days and to assure our fortunately few fellow citizens who were affected by the fire, that the state will make sure to move quickly to compensate them.

August 15th should be a moment of reflection and self-awareness and recognition that the place moves forward only through unityand fighting the polarization and toxicity which unfortunately has not done our country any good in recent years.

I hope these moments of reflection make us all reflect on how we can be better, and how united we can move forward to once again successfully face the great difficulties we see coming in the future.

Happy birthday to all Greeks and Greek women all over the world.”