“The world owes Greece a debt of gratitude for governance and democracy,” the US Ambassador said, referring to the Western values of democracy, equality and civilization, while also revealing his own and his family’s history from a poor village in Greece. in the USA.
George Tsounis praised Greece for its human rights initiatives, including among the LGBTI community, stressing that “love is love, we are all equal, we are all God’s creations.” He referred to immigration, saying that millions of people are fleeing their homes to escape disaster and we have an obligation to help them, concluding: “We must stop the rhetoric of hate and speak the language of love.”
Asked about the developments in the US-Israel relationship, the American Ambassador emphasized that Israel is a strong ally of the US, but added that “we have made it clear that Israel has the right to defend itself, but how it does it matters”, while it was mentioned and to the request for the release of the hostages.
He made extensive reference to the excellent relations between Washington and Athens, saying that the relationship between the US and Greece has been steadily improving for years, as we share the same values of peace and democracy
Asked if Greece has reason to worry about the F-16s that Turkey will get, he replied that “Turkey has had F-16s for decades, as has Greece, and we should focus on the fact that they are two NATO allied countries.”
In fact, he encouraged our two NATO allies to continue their talks and emphasized that “Greece guards NATO’s south-eastern borders, it is important to modernize its equipment”.
What happened in Ukraine made us all realize that we need to strengthen NATO and its deterrence capabilities, Mr. Tsounis said and emphasized the strengthening of Greece’s role in the energy sector, with the Alexandroupolis and Revythoussa facilities , given the disconnection of Europe from Russian energy.
Greece is in the top 10 countries in the green transition, the Ambassador estimated, adding that Greece is a leader in green energy and decoupling from carbon and is making a very rapid transition to green energy.
He also emphasized the importance of protecting the oceans, but also the huge investments made in Greek shipyards, the jobs that will be created and the positive effects in all sectors.
Finally, referring to the USA, he said that “my country is not perfect, but we strive for the best in the world”. The USA is a force for good and Greece benefits from having its eyes on the West, in the relationship with the EU, the USA and NATO.
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