With significant high-level contacts, the week concluded for Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis who, during a critical geopolitical moment for the broader region, received a US Congressional delegation on Friday at Maximos Mansion led by Republican Senator Jerry Moran, in the presence of US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, before meeting with NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Christopher Cavoli.
During Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s meeting with the bipartisan US Congressional delegation, which also included Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat), John Barrasso (Republican), John Boozman (Republican), Deb Fischer (Republican), and Gary Peters (Democrat), the exceptional level of Greek-American relations was confirmed, while cooperation was discussed across a series of sectors, with emphasis on energy, defense, and investments. From the government side, participants included Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, Director of the Prime Minister’s Diplomatic Office, Ambassador Katerina Nasika, Director of the Prime Minister’s Office for International Strategic Planning and Communication, Aristotelia Peloni, and Secretary General for National Security, Thanos Dokos.
Mitsotakis meets Congressional delegation: Greece as security pillar
Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized Greece’s role as a pillar of stability and security in the broader region, as well as a provider of energy security for all of Southeastern Europe, highlighting the tremendous importance of the Vertical Corridor’s operation for supplying European countries with American LNG. “I believe that Greece-United States relations are at the highest level of all times,” declared Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He added: “I was also briefed on the statement made by President Trump during the reception of our new ambassador in Washington. The President underlines various aspects of our cooperation, from defense and security to energy and artificial intelligence,” he noted.
For his part, Jerry Moran emphasized, addressing the Prime Minister: “We are particularly excited about the opportunities offered by cooperation between the United States and Greece in the energy sector – a bright future – and we are pleased to be in Greece again to congratulate you on the successes under your governance, and particularly for Greece’s stability and its role internationally, as well as in NATO.”
Greece’s upgrade from a country on the periphery of the European map to co-architect of Europe’s new energy security map is the government’s central narrative for energy policy, with Maximos Mansion highlighting the geopolitical value of the Vertical Corridor, which makes the country a key “player” in Europe’s energy chessboard and the ambitious project simultaneously limiting Turkey’s energy role.
Message of support: signing contracts with Chevron
For the government, the recent signing of contracts with Chevron sent a strong message of US support for Greece’s energy projects with geopolitical significance, while taking place just days before the February 24th Summit in the US capital for the Natural Gas Vertical Corridor, with Washington having declared our country a strategic partner in the energy field, with increased geopolitical footprint. Moreover, beyond proving the country’s attractiveness in the hydrocarbon exploration and production sector, the presence of the American giant constitutes a vote of confidence in Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s government for Maximos Mansion, proving that Greece-US relations, under Mitsotakis’s premiership and Trump’s presidency, are at a historic high amid, moreover, a geopolitically critical condition. It is recalled that on Tuesday, February 24th, in the US capital, with the presence of Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, the focus will be on promoting the Vertical Corridor energy venture among his counterparts from regional countries and the head of the Atlantic See LNG Trade consortium, Alexandros Exarchou.
This is a project with multiple benefits that will make Greece the gateway for American LNG to Europe, highlighting the country’s upgraded energy position and creating investment prospects, jobs, more revenue, and strengthening Greece’s geopolitical position. In the Prime Minister’s meeting with General Christopher Cavoli, who came to Greece as part of his tour of NATO ally capitals, with scheduled meetings with Greece’s Defense Minister and the Chief of General Staff, both sides emphasized Greece’s steady and significant contribution to NATO’s collective defense.
Greece’s contribution to NATO
During the meeting, according to information, Greece’s significant and consistent contribution to the Alliance’s collective defense was discussed, as our country maintained the alliance commitment regarding defense spending of 2% of GDP even during the economic crisis period, while today it spends over 3% of its GDP on defense. In any case, Cavoli’s presence in Athens and his meetings with the Prime Minister and senior Greek officials underline NATO’s interest in strengthening cooperation with Greece, particularly in the defense sector.
Penny Avramidi
