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02/21/2023 05:19 AM EST
Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
Athens, Greece
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
FOREIGN MINISTER DENDIAS: Dear Secretary of State, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you in Athens. It has been almost a year-and-a-half since our Third Strategic Dialogue in Washington. In the meantime, we have seen war returning to Europe with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We have also witnessed a revisionist rhetoric in defense of international law emanating from a number of international actors.
The fact is that, in the middle of all this, the strong Greek-U.S. cooperation has been enhanced even further. That speaks volumes for our relation. The strengthening of this cooperation promotes our mutual interest, as well as regional peace, stability, and prosperity. It is also based on shared values and on our respect for international law.
The Fourth Strategic Dialogue is a culmination of a series of working group meetings and initiatives of our experts from various ministries. There has been progress in all the Strategic Dialogue subjects: defense and security; law enforcement and counterterrorism; humanitarian challenges; trade, investment; energy and environment; and last, but certainly not least, people-to-people contacts.
Moreover, we will be conducting open and in-depth discussions on regional political issues. This Strategic Dialogue is an excellent symbol of the strategic relationship between our two countries. It also shows the continuing interest of the United States in our wider region. Our cooperation on defense and security has been going back for decades, but there are plenty of things to show since the last Strategic Dialogue.
The planned inclusion of Alexandroupolis in the MDCA allowed it to play a crucial role when it was most needed. We are looking forward to speeding up our electric interconnections with the two neighboring continents, Asia to Israel, and Africa to Egypt. At the same time, tourist flows have regained their pre-pandemic levels. The Strategic Dialogue is an excellent demonstration of the strategic relationship between our two countries.
I know that you have brought with you a group of remarkable high officials from Washington, who will shortly be meeting with our team. Being aware of the dedication that everybody involved has shown in preparing this Fourth Strategic Dialogue, I am certain that it will be a success. Thank you so much.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, Nikos, my friend, thank you so much, and forgive me because my voice is struggling a little bit. But it is wonderful for me and for us to be back in Athens, and I am especially excited to be joining you, to be joining our teams, to kick off this Fourth U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue.
The dialogue is, in fact, a reflection of the partnership that our citizens have had for more than 200 years. And indeed, the delegation today that you referenced demonstrates the depth of our relationship. We have representatives here from the State Department, Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, Commerce, USAID.
Today’s discussion builds off of the last Strategic Dialogue that we held in 2021, which I remember very well. And among other important steps, as you noted, we amended the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement between our countries, strengthening our preparedness and shared security by allowing our troops to train together in new ways and in more places. And as you mentioned, one of the new sites supports military transport around the Port of Alexandroupoli, which has become, indeed, a key strategic hub, including bringing in defensive weaponry, trucks, artillery for U.S. military units that are operating in Eastern and Northern Europe, as well as NATO Allies.
The United States worked to upgrade the port has created jobs in both of our countries. We’ve made similar investments in other parts of Greece, including $123 million in infrastructure improvements in the Souda Bay and Larissa.
This port has been vital to reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank since President Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. The United States is grateful for Greece’s unwavering support for Ukraine since the invasion, including by opening its doors to 20,000 displaced Ukrainians. Greece has also helped lead the humanitarian response to the recent tragic earthquake in Türkiye, from where I came. Greece rapidly deployed dozens of firefighters, doctors, search and rescue personnel, and provided crucial humanitarian support, including 80 tons of medicines, blankets, food, and other supplies.
Nikos, I think you were the first foreign minister from Europe to travel to Türkiye, visiting just six days after the disaster. And I took the same helicopter ride that you did with the Turkish foreign minister, our colleague Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu. We saw, as you did, the incredible devastation of this earthquake, and we had a chance – both of us – to be briefed on the rescue and relief efforts.