Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, will visit the White House on May 16 to meet US President, Joe Biden, the White House said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement by White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said Mitsotakis’ visit “provides an opportunity to affirm our strong bilateral relationship and to celebrate 201 years of Greek independence.”
The two leaders are expected to discuss a number of issues including the current Ukraine crisis, climate change and energy security.
Biden and Mitsotakis will take stock of the joint efforts by Greece and the US “to promote global security through NATO, as well as our shared goals for peace and prosperity in the region.”
“They will also celebrate the history, democratic values, and trade and investment links that have united our peoples and countries for generations,” the statement said.
This announcement comes after US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, spoke with Mitsotakis on the phone on Thursday and thanked Greece for its firm support in Ukraine.
“The US-Greece relationship has never been stronger or more important,” Blinken wrote in a Twitter post.
For his part, Mitsotakis tweeted that he had a “constructive discussion” with Blinken and that “Greece and the US continue our close coordination as NATO allies against Russia’s unprovoked military attacks on Ukraine.”
So far, Greece’s support in Ukraine includes the strong imposition of sanctions and extensive humanitarian and defence assistance.
On Thursday, Greece had to release a Russian tanker it had seized this week amid confusion about sanctions on its owner.