US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Athens in the afternoon, shortly after 17:30, coming from Ankara. At 19:30, the head of American diplomacy will go to Megaros Maximos, where he will meet with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Government spokesperson Yiannis Economou, while briefing journalists, described Blinken's visit as an extremely positive event and underlined that Greece's relations with the USA are at the best level in recent years.
Regarding the agenda for the meeting between the US Secretary of State and the Prime Minister, Economou said that all the issues concerning Greece, but also the international political scene, including all the major issues, the war in Ukraine, energy, relations with Turkey, and NATO.
From the US side, the US Deputy Secretary of State for European affairs, Karen Donfried, has expressed that Blinken will discuss all current geopolitical developments.
Early on Tuesday morning, the head of the State Department will meet with Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias. Specifically, at 8:45, the two ministers will announce the start of the 4th round of the Greece-US Strategic Dialogue. Talks between the two delegations will then follow.
Afterwards, there will be a private meeting between Dendias and Blinken, while at 10:30 joint statements to the press will take place. The talks are in the framework of bilateral relations and are expected to focus on ways to further strengthen strategic bilateral relations in all sectors.
It is recalled that the 3rd round of the Greece-US Strategic Dialogue took place in Washington in October 2021. The areas of cooperation covered by the Strategic Dialogue are: Regional Issues, Defence and Security, Law Enforcement and Counter-Terrorism, Humanitarian Challenges and Disaster Preparedness, Trade and Investment, Energy and Environment, People-to-People Ties.
During his visit to Athens, Blinken will also meet with former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The meeting will take place on Tuesday at 11:30 at Hotel Grande Bretagne
The program of the American head of diplomacy will also include a tour of the Ancient Agora of Athens.
Afterwards, Blinken will meet with members of EMAK's search and rescue teams who have returned from the earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey.
Subsequently, he will inaugurate the extension of the embassy building, in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias and the Archbishop of Athens.
It is noted that Blinken visited Turkey on Sunday and Monday, where he went to the areas affected by the deadly earthquake of February 6 and met with the country's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
During his visit, he announced the granting of $100 million in additional aid to those affected by the earthquake that caused nearly 45,000 deaths in the country and neighbouring Syria.
"Witnessed the devastation from the earthquakes. Heartbroken by the tragic loss of life. Inspired by the examples of heroism. Moved by the strength and resilience of the Turkish people. We will overcome this tragedy," he said on Twitter.
Witnessed the devastation from the earthquakes. Heartbroken by the tragic loss of life. Inspired by the examples of heroism. Moved by the strength and resilience of the Turkish people. We will overcome this tragedy. pic.twitter.com/c7xc2BQ6nE
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 20, 2023
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