Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a wide-ranging discussion on matters of importance to Greece with former U.S. Ambassador to Greece Nicholas Burns during the online Aspen Security Forum.
During the hour-long discussion, Mitsotakis spoke about various issues, including Greece’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, its relationship with the United States, as well as the thorny issue of the country’s relations with an ever-belligerent neighbor.
He spoke at length about his country’s longstanding relationship with the United States, stemming from the birth of the American nation in 1776 which he said inspired his countrymen to fight for their own independence less than a century later.
Unfortunately, Mitsotakis admitted that “things weren’t looking so good” for the prospects of American travelers being permitted to enter his country any time soon, given the escalating health crisis from the Coronavirus in many parts of the United States.
“We’re sad that we are not able to welcome visitors from the U.S.,” Mitsotakis said, adding that it was a European decision not to allow American travelers.
“I do hope this is going to change,” he added, “although things in the U.S. don’t look to be moving in the right direction.”
Mitsotakis leveled a powerful ultimatum on NATO, saying he would no longer accept the alliance’s “neutral” approach to its handling Turkey’s constant destabilizing actions that not only threaten Greece, but also the stability of the alliance as a whole.
“I think it is very clear to NATO that [its] position of neutrality— that we are dealing with two NATO members and, therefore, will not interfere— will no longer be acceptable to me,” Mitsotakis said during the online session.
Burns, a former American diplomat and most recently a professor at Harvard, praised Mitsotakis during the hour-long conversation about his masterful handling of the pandemic in Greece and also the results of a European Union agreement that led to billions in aid for the beleaguered Southern European nations that have been hardest hit by the health crisis, financially.
Watch Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Nicholas Burns Entire Conversation Here:
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