Kyriakos Mitsotakis had the privilege, that few leaders have, to address the Plenary Session of the Congress, with the participation of both members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
And if one thinks that this is a formal process, this is not the case, given the power that Congress has over the functioning of the United States of America, with the typical example of the way it made the former President Trump impose sanctions under the CAATSA law on Turkey.
The Prime Minister personally wrote his speech in the previous days. From the Capitol podium, Mr. Mitsotakis refered to the Greek-American relations, which, as he said during his meeting with Joe Biden yesterday, are at a historic high, with emphasis on both military and economic and energy cooperation.
Given the clear position that Greece has taken on the issue of Ukraine and which the Prime Minister invoked, Mr. Mitsotakis emphasized that, in a changing world, Greece is a “hub” in the wider SE Mediterranean region and, at the same time, the most stable and reliable US partner in the region.
This, in fact, was the message, that American lawmakers should receive very seriously in terms of the Turkish provocations, while Mr. Mitsotakis realizes that Turkey’s “bargain” with the prospect of Finish and Swedish accession to NATO does not do good to the injured profile of its neighbors in Washington.
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Hence, the Prime Minister mentioned the need for stability in NATO and that it should not be disturbed by the actions of Turkey, while he sent a message about the upgrade program of the Turkish F-16s.
On the other hand, Greece remains an “anchor of stability” in the SE Mediterranean. However, as Mr. Mitsotakis explains to his interlocutors, the visit to the White House and the historic speech in the Congress is not made with the sole objective of the Greek side to “complain” about Turkey, but to emphasize the extremely important and upgraded role of Greece in area.
On the Capitol Hill Mr. Mitsotakis met with US Vice President Kamala Harris. Mr. Mitsotakis had first seen Ms. Harris at the Munich Security Conference a few months ago.
He also met with Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, while he saw the heads of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Senate and the House. The President of the Senate is the emblematic Senator Bob Menendez, who was at the reception given in honor of Mr. Mitsotakis by the American President in the White House.
