“Our country will defend its sovereign rights any way it deems appropriate”, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during a speech at the official dinner of the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce.

“I believe that the visit to the US as a whole reaffirmed the fact that for the U.S, Greece is a firm and reliable ally in an extremely troubled region,” the PM said.

“I was absolutely clear with President Trump himself on the red lines of the Greek government. The country will defend its sovereign rights in whatever way it deems appropriate. At the same time, we explained that it is not us who are seeking tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and will seek to resolve our differences with Turkey in a peaceful manner and that is why we are keeping the channel of dialogue open, seeking to reduce that tension. I am pleased that the US has clearly and unambiguously expressed its support for the security and prosperity of the country and supports initiatives that will help resolve the issues in the Eastern Mediterranean peacefully, “the prime minister stated.

Mr. Mitsotakis also emphasised that both the U.S Congress and the Senate had reached a cross-party understanding on the strategic role of Greece in the region, something reflected in the passing of the EastMed Act that defined the Eastern Mediterranean region for the first time as an area of strategic interest to the U.S and determined who America’s strong and reliable allies were and how they should be supported.