Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotskis ad the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo gave a joint press conference following their visit to Souda military base.
"Greece is a pillar of stability in the region," Mr Pompeo said, expressing his support to Greece and the Greek government. He said it was the first time that a US Secretary of State has visited Greece twice in such a short period. He made a special reference to the very strong military relationship between the two countries and added that "Greece is a pillar of stability in the region" and that the US side is very proud to support the leadership of the Greek government and that of the armed forces.
Mr Pompeo also referred to the discussions with Defence Minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, saying that they were working to make progress on the issues discussed, a year ago, regarding the defence cooperation agreement reached last year.
The US Secretary of State stressed that it was a strategic choice to permanently dock the USS Hersel "Woody" Wiliams helicopter ship at Souda bay because it is s strategic position and symbolises the strategic cooperations that exist and will continue to grow.
Mr Pompeo referred to the 200th anniversary since the Greek revolution that led to the foundation of the modern Greek State and thanked the Prime Minister for his hospitality. Mr Mitsotakis expressed satisfaction that the US official was his guest at Chania, Crete, where his family is from and said "Crete is not just the heart of Greece and the heart of the eastern Mediterranean, but also where the strong pulse of the Greek-US cooperation is heard from. It is no accident that we are now speaking from the 115th Battle Wing of our airforce."
Mr Mitsotskis spoke of the strategic location of Souda base and of the modernisation of 84 F-16 jets and also noted important joint investments in Greek shipyards.
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