The “extremely positive atmosphere” in view of the visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Washington was captured by the outgoing US Ambassador to Greece Jeffrey Payat in an interview with ERT and Fanis Papathanassiou, an excerpt of which was shown tonight on the main news bulletin of public television. «The climate is extremely positive. The President is deeply committed to our relations with Greece. You will remember that he, as Vice President at the time, entrusted me (with my appointment) with this task. I know his passion, his personal commitment to Greek-American relations, his admiration for the Greek people. Also, for what Greece represents in terms of Democracy. It is a country that shares our values ​​and interests. The White House invitation reflects just thatSaid Jeffrey Payat.
Referring to the challenge addressed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to the Greek Prime Minister to address the US Congress, the ambassador of USA he said: “I believe that if you look at the way in which President Pelosi has described this invitation to a meeting of Congress, you will find that it is an exceptional honor, the highest that our legislative system allows to a foreign leader».
Asked to answer for his most difficult days during his tenure in Greece, Jeffrey Payat said that the period of his greatest concern was the summer of 2020. “It was a period of great tension. There was concern in the US about Turkey’s provocative stance and the risks of possible accidents. Of course we saw it with the collision between the Turkish Kemal Reis and the Greek frigate. This is an example of what was going on behind the scenes. It was not visible to many people. The greatest tension took place at sea. The US took the incident very seriously. We cooperated with the other NATO allies in the region. France is a very important partner in this. Personally, I am glad that all governments have worked hard to overcome the period of tension.” write down. He added that today, as in recent years, there are difficulties, but they do not compare with what happened in the summer of 2020. “It was a serious crisis,” he added.
Doesn’t it bother you today? «It always concerns me. I’m worried about possible accidents“The United States has made it clear that it supports Mr Mitsotakis’s actions during his trip to Istanbul and his efforts to establish communication channels,” he said. at this time when we must work together as NATO allies to support Ukraine».
«We must act together in the face of Russia’s terrible attack on the people of Ukraine. We must realize that Ukraine is not the only one on the Russian agenda. It affects our interests, especially those of NATO’s east wingHe noted further.
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