Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke by telephone to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, November 23, 2016, according to numerous Greek government sources.
The call, which the prime minister’s office said was initiated by the Trump transition team, included a discussion about the strong ties between the two countries and the Greek Americans who are included in Trump’s team so far, whom Tsipras referred to during his conversation.
Tsipras was referring to Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus and George Gigicos, who headed Trump’s advance operations during the campaign and is still a member of the President-elect’s inner circle.
At that moment, according to a source inside the prime minister’s office who was included on the call, Trump responded that “Greek Americans voted for me in big numbers.”
The U.S. President-elect also congratulated Tsipras for his progress on numerous issues in Greece.
“I’ve been following your work,” Trump told Tsipras, adding that “You’re having tremendous results.”
Trump was referring to the country’s work in handling the influx of refugees, as well as the necessary steps being taken to get Greece out of its current recession and to implement the necessary reforms needed to align with demands from Greece’s bailout partners.
Trump promised to remain in touch with Tsipras and told the Greek prime minister he hopes to “meet him in person soon.”
The phone call was confirmed by numerous news organizations in Greece and the United States. Donald Trump’s transition team have not released details on the call.
2 comments
I hope Trump gives Alexis some real advice and in his candid way gets him out of his cloud.
Well said Eleni!