Mitsotakis discusses bilateral ties, Ukraine crisis, Eastern Mediterranean with US Vice President Kamala Harris

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discusses US-Greece relations, the Ukraine Crisis, and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean with US Vice President Kamala Harris on the margins of the annual Munich Security Conference today.

The full range of bilateral relations, which according to the readout from the PM’s office are at their best level ever, was discussed.

Mitsotakis offered assurances that the government within the coming weeks will table in Parliament for ratification the amended US-Greece Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement (MDCA), signed on 2 November, which greatly expands the scope of the US military presence in Greece, including a base in Alexandroupolis.

Mitsotakis and Harris also discussed Turkish provocations against Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean, at a time when Ankara is disputing Greek  sovereignty over Aegean islands, which Turkey claims should be demilitarised.

The PM underlined the danger of a destabilisation of the Eastern Mediterranean due to Turkey’s escalation of provocations, and briefed Harris on Greece’s energy projects in the region.

Recent developments in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, which directly affects and endangers the security of the large ethnic Greek minority, concentrated in Mariupol in the Russian-speaking border region, were also discussed.