PM Mitsotakis: The US-Greek Mutual Defense Cooperation agreement is a vote of confidence in Greece

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“The American writer Mark Twain said that patriotism is to support your country all the time and your government when it deserves it,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday, opening his speech to the Greek parliament during the debate on the bill “Ratification of the second revision protocol of the US-Greek Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement” that is to  conclude on Thursday afternoon.

“The text we are called to ratify is one of the many renewals of our defensive alignment with the transatlantic power,” Mitsotakis said, adding that the USA is expanding its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean and also demonstrating an interest in energy.

“Our country is made the key partner and interlocutor with USA in the broader region,” he noted.

“The specific agreement ceases to be a bilateral protocol and becomes a vote of confidence in Greece as an unshakeable factor for stability, as a prudent European and NATO partner that guarantees international legality in the face of any crises stirred by our neighbours. Of a crucial hub on the energy map”.

This was an agreement, he noted, that upgraded Greece’s significance and affected not just defence and diplomacy but primarily the economy and the energy sector.

“No country can be alone in an international environment which is constantly changing,” the premier underlined, adding that this becomes imperative when it has to do with countries that have unstable neighbours.

“So-called neutrality turns into a dangerous solitude. The alleged independent policy leads to dependence on situtations created by others. We stand with the alliance of the West, we come from the Enlightenement and we walk with Democracy,” Mitsotakis said.

“That’s how our clear stance in support of Ukraine is interpreted,” he explained, adding that international law is violated alongside the violation of Ukraine’s borders. “In our foreign policy, positions of principle are aligned with our national interests. Our presence in alliances will be strong. We are friends that can be counted on in order to have, if necessary, support that can be counted upon,” he added.

Source: ΑΝΑ – MPA

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