Pompeo's visit highlights the renewed US-Greek strategic relationship, Petsas says

The visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the second visit in just one year, reflects the key role that Thessaloniki plays as a hubu for the Balkans and the role that Souda Bay in Crete plays for geostrategic planning in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, government spokesperson Stelios Persas said during a press briefing on Monday.

Pompeo's visit highlights, he said, the renewed strategic relationship and the special weight of Greece as a factor of stability and security in the wider region.

Regarding the pandemic, he said that "over the last weeks the pandemic has been on the rise in many countries. Greece, thanks to the measures that have been taken so far and thanks to the individual responsibility and the collective maturity that the vast majority of Greeks have shown and continue to show, is stabilising the daily cases of coronavirus."

Petsas stressed, however, that "the better epidemiological picture in Greece should not lead to complacency, but to vigilance and efforts to improve it. As the pandemic evolves dynamically, so does our strategy against the coronavirus."

He also referred to the programme of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis:

"The prime minister is going to Crete tonight, where for two days he will host US Secretary of State Mr. Pompeo at his paternal home and they will have discussions on issues of common interest," he said.

"A cabinet meeting will convene on Wednesday at 12:00," the spokesman said, adding that "in the evening, the prime minister will attend an event for the lighting of the Acropolis, which will be attended by his counterparts from other European countries."

"On Thursday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will travel to Brussels to participate in the work of the Special European Council on EU foreign affairs, including Euro-Turkish relations," he concluded.

Pompeo also visited the Jewish community of Thessaloniki today.