Mitsotakis: Greece a Strong EU, NATO Member; Strategic Ties With US

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday reiterated that Greece is a strong EU and NATO member-state, and also enjoys strategic relations with the United States that Athens wants to deepen, speaking during an interview with journalist and author Robert D. Kaplan at the 10th Delphi Economic Forum.

In terms of the tariffs on European products, which were very prominently announced by US President Donald Trump this week, Mitsotakis said it’s in Greece’s best interest to support free trade, while he expressed satisfaction that the American president followed up by announcing a 90-day freeze of tariffs. A trade war between the EU and the US would only have losers, he said, adding that the 90-day freeze should be utilized for an honest discussion. He added also that there is no logic to adding tariffs to products that do not affect the US production base such as olive oil, olives, and feta.

His comments came after his highly publicized statements a day earlier, during an interview posted by conservative US site Breitbart – statements that hours later were used as a basis for a press question towards Trump, and a reply by the latter to Mitsotakis’ “win-win” proposition.

Trump reax to Mitsotakis comments

Asked about the potential for a “win-win” trade deal with the European Union (EU), as cited hours earlier by Mitsotakis, Trump told Breitbart News on the White House South Lawn that:

“First of all, I know him, he’s a good man, and I appreciate his comment…Yeah, a deal could be made with every one of them. A deal is going to be made with China. A deal is going to be made with every one of them, and they’ll be fair deals. I just want fair. They will be fair deals for everybody, but they weren’t fair to the United States.”