Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias completed his official US visit where he met with the US Secretary of State among others, describing his two-day visit as ‘successful’.
‘’I think the two-day visit to the U.S. was very successful. We met with the Secretary of State, we met with the National Security Advisor and his deputy. We also saw the White House Chief of Staff and a number of other officials who deal with foreign policy,’’ said the Minister.
Kotzias noted that his discussions with US officials was dominated by Greece’s strategic role in the fragile geopolitical landscape it occupies as well security issues in the Middle East, the eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans.
‘’I think what was made clear to the American side is our particular geostrategic analysis of our region, and we agreed on the great need for stability and security in this region. Our country's special role is a role of responsibility. We have put together a number of institutions, like the trilateral cooperation schemes we have with countries such as Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. We have quadrilateral cooperation schemes in the Balkans, as well as the cross-border cooperation scheme. We are in the process of forming a new quadrilateral cooperation scheme with Georgia and Armenia. All of this shows Greece's potential and special role in the region,’’ he added.
When asked about Cyprus and EU and Greek tensions with Turkey the minister said that there wasn’t much time spent on these issues, beyond explaining what the conditions are for successful negotiations over Cyprus, referring to the removal of Turkish troops from the island.
Finally, when reminded about Obama’s support for Greece’s woes concerning the issue of Eurozone, the debt crisis and fragile economy, Kotzias confirmed that US government support in these areas will continue under the Trump administration.
