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Two years ago, Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States. This photo still adorns the Prime Minister’s office. This speech, which came as the pinnacle of excellent Greek-American relations, took place during his latest major visit to Washington, when he crossed the threshold of the Oval Office. Two years later, and in a crucial year, the Prime Minister returns to Washington for a meeting with President Joe Biden.
The meeting has actually been scheduled for months, but it was postponed due to force majeure reasons. Mr. Mitsotakis’ initial intention was to visit the USA in January, but he fell ill with the flu. Subsequently.
The White House will be combined with the celebration of our national anniversary with the customary annual reception. According to information from American sources, this is scheduled for April 3, while on the 4th of the month, Mr. Mitsotakis is expected to be at the Oval Office.
The third visit of Mr. Mitsotakis to the White House during his tenure (he also visited at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency) is not without an agenda, as all open issues, bilateral, regional, and broader international, will be discussed. “It doesn’t matter whether an American president has a few months or more left in office; he is the American president and invites you to discuss, so you go”, a competent government source told protothema.gr responding to concerns about whether the government’s close relationship with the Biden administration would be a burden on Greece’s national issues in the event of a change of guard in Washington, should Donald Trump win the November elections. “Obviously, it was easier all the previous period, but let’s not forget that we never had a more supportive Secretary of State, like the staunch Pompeo, while the revision of the Defense Cooperation Agreement was unlocked under Trump. So, personalities matter, but not only. Now Greece is an independent player in the region”, a competent diplomatic source told protothema.gr.
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In any case, Mr. Mitsotakis and Mr. Biden will discuss Greek-American relations, which are experiencing their best days. Regarding Greek-Turkish relations, the de-escalation of tension and the “normalization” of dialogue are also an American desire, while the trip to America is scheduled to take place a month before the Prime Minister’s visit to Ankara, immediately after Easter, in return for Erdogan’s visit in December and the meeting of the Supreme Council of Cooperation of the two countries.
Of course, regional challenges persist such as the ongoing war in Gaza with no immediate prospects for resolution, and the disruption of trade activity due to the Houthi rebels making the Suez Canal impassable. And of course, another major war is unfolding in Ukraine, where the Prime Minister visited weeks ago.
