Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis travels to Washington, DC, on Tuesday, where he is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House at 9 p.m. Greek time.

Speaking at an event in the state of Florida on Monday, Mitsotakis said that he plans to brief the American president on “the serious dangers that Turkey’s aggressive and illegal behavior raises for peace and security” in the Eastern Mediterranean and confirm Greece’s role as a “long-term, reliable but also predictable ally” in the region.

A senior US government official, meanwhile, hailed the meeting between Mitsotakis and Trump as a milestone in Greek-American relations, with Greece having emerged as a “pillar of stability” in the volatile region.

“From a source of problems Greece has now become a source of solutions. It is also a pillar of stability that constitutes a crucial piece of America’s broader strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the unnamed official told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) on Tuesday.

Mitsotakis and Trump are also expected to discuss deepening cooperation following the recent renewal of the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA), with the US official telling the ANA-MPA that Greece and the US are “working together not just as NATO allies, but also as countries with common values and common strategic interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

While in Washington, the Greek prime minister is also scheduled to meet with the new managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, and to give an address at the Atlantic Council think-tank.

ekathimerini.com