US Secretary of State Marco Rubio used warm words about Greece and the country’s cooperation with the United States during his remarks on Wednesday morning alongside George Gerapetritis, following their meeting as part of the US Secretary of State’s visit to Greece. At the same time, he made clear that “Iran can never acquire nuclear weapons.”

“Greece and the United States maintain a historic alliance. Its importance is underscored by the turmoil in the world in which we live, in Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, Yemen and Ukraine. This is an alliance of a historic nature with strong foundations, which is a source of stability. We are grateful that Greece is a great ally,” Mr. Rubio said in his remarks alongside his Greek counterpart.

As he noted, there is a shared understanding of the challenges facing our societies and how to address them, describing Greece as a close partner in combating illegal migration and on terrorism-related issues, while noting that “because of its location on the map, Greece is exposed to different threats.”

In this context, he announced that “we are moving forward with a new memorandum on information sharing” and added: “We do not want the cradle of Western civilization to be threatened. Greece is a safe and stable NATO ally, with the aim of addressing every threat. It is also an important member in safeguarding the Alliance’s economic future.”

Finally, Mr. Rubio said that “we want new interconnector pipelines and an expansion of US LNG supplies.” At the same time, he added: “We want to combat the illegal trafficking of antiquities. The foreign ministers, together with the Department of the Interior and the FBI, want to safeguard the treasures of civilization.”

Asked about the issue, he said that the United States “is deeply committed” to major energy projects in Greece, such as the Chevron-ExxonMobil drilling projects and the electricity interconnection with Cyprus and Israel. “Energy security is linked to national security, as is also evident in the case of Iran. These events have shown us that we need diversified energy sources,” he added, while noting that “some of these projects involve delicate situations that include other countries as well. We are absolutely committed to energy cooperation with Greece because it is in the interest of global security. There are sensitive issues that need to be analyzed in specific forums.”

In response to another question, and after saying that “the US ambassador to Greece is doing an excellent job,” Marco Rubio made clear that “Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. We will not go into any further details. Whatever the United States agrees to will lead to Iran not acquiring nuclear weapons. They will never have nuclear weapons as long as Donald Trump is president. How we achieve that remains to be seen.”

Greece Is an Indispensable NATO Ally

Earlier, at the opening of the 6th US-Greece Strategic Dialogue, Mr. Rubio described Greece as an “indispensable NATO ally” and a pillar of stability for the US presence in the region. He confirmed that the country is a secure energy hub facilitating increased exports of US LNG to Europe through the Vertical Corridor.

At the same time, the US official announced the integration of the Hellenic Armed Forces into a cooperation program with the Florida National Guard, while highlighting the importance of the US-Greece Economic Declaration for the development of secure supply chains, with particular emphasis on critical minerals.

In closing, Mr. Rubio made special reference to the enduring debt owed to ancient Greece for shaping Western civilization, noting that their shared history provides the foundation for future initiatives by the two countries.