Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Venizelos met on Wednesday with the President of the Republic of Austria, Heinz Fischer.

Following their one-on-one meeting, Mr. Venizelos made the following statement:

“The President of Austria, Mr. Fischer, is a profound and true friend of Greece. He loves our country, he knows its people, he knows the problems, and through his good words and deeds he supports our effort to emerge definitively from the status of the memorandum and troika monitoring, and to strengthen our relations, which are excellent, but there is always room for improvement.

Also very important is the fact that we share a common outlook on the Western Balkans, on the developments in the wider region, within the framework of international legality and the common European position. So we had the opportunity to talk about all of these issues, because the current time is rife with challenges.”