Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed US-Greece military cooperation, with a focus on the strategic important of the US base at the port of Alexandroupolis, with a delegation from the US House of Representatives, headed by Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, in Athens today.
The meeting was attended by the Greek-American US Ambassador to Athens George Tsunis.
Strategic importance of Alexandroupolis base
Mitsotakis underlined the excellent level of US-Greece cooperation and the exceptional strategic military ties, which both sides consider to be the best ever.
The US and Greece in October, 2021, signed the crucial renewal of their Military Defence Cooperation Agreement (MDCA), which has always been the bedrock of bilateral defence ties and greatly expanded the US military presence in Greece, including the creation of the base in Alexandroupolis, which has played a key role in the transfer of arms and materiel to embattled Ukraine.
At the time of the MDCA signing, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the agreement will allow the NATO allies to advance security in the Eastern Mediterranean region and beyond.
The agreement and the establishment of the base elicited the great consternation of Ankara, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly expressed
Mitsotakis once again stressed Greece’s role as a pillar of stability, peace, and security in the broader region.
The PM stressed the strategic significance of Alexandroupolis as regards ensuring energy supplies and security.
He said that Greece, aside from its role as a gateway for energy to enter Europe, is currently transforming into a hub for the management and storage of data, with investments from companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.
Energy price ceiling, Ankara’s bellicose provocations
The PM discussed with the House of Representatives delegation Russia’s weaponization of energy in relation to Europe.
He briefed the representatives on his government’s measures to support households and businesses in the midst of the energy crisis, as well as his proposal in the EU context for a ceiling on the wholesale price of natural gas, which he noted has been supported by 14 more member-states.
Turkey’s dangerous escalation of tensions
Mitsotakis also briefed his guests regarding Turkey’s extreme and continually escalating rhetoric against Greece, underlining that Ankara’s disputing of Greece’s sovereignty over its Aegean islands is entirely unacceptable.
He stressed that Greece will not under any circumstances accept a violation of its sovereignty and sovereign rights.
The PM reiterated that Greece’s positions are grounded in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the principle of good neighbourly relations, and that Greece is dedicated to conducting a bilateral dialogue on that basis.
