“I always feel great visiting Greece,” said Mr former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo coming to speak at the first American-Mediterranean investment forum (1st American Mediterranean Investment Forum) organized by the Joseph Sassoon Group at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

Referring to US relations with Greece and the Mediterranean, he characterized them as important and emphasized not only security but also economic issues and spoke of common prosperity.

Asked about the EastMed project, the 70th US Secretary of State said significant progress has been made but much work remains to be done. However, he emphasized that the good news is that the opportunities he saw as foreign minister have not changed, they still remain, for the Eastern Mediterranean. In particular, he said that the people of this region work hard, the geography, the infrastructure present huge economic opportunities, creating many jobs, much wealth

Furthermore, he expressed the hope that the President of Turkey would follow the path of dialogue, pointing out that this expectation was also during his tenure at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that is, for dialogue and not confrontation. He added that Erdogan was re-elected and has economic challenges and said he hopes to face them and become a good partner not only in the region but also in NATO. He has the ability to do so, he pointed out.

Asked about the F-16s, the former foreign minister said he tries to stay out of politics, stressing that the US has excellent cooperation with Greece and Cyprus and that NATO has an important role.

Finally, answering a question about the case with Senator Robert Menendez, he said that the Justice will clarify it, noting that the allegations are very serious when a senior American official is accused of these things.