Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a brief informal encounter with four regional leaders on Thursday, joining Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Budapest.
The short sit-down took place before the start of the summit in Budapest, and according to sources, the leaders discussed, among other things, Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.
Arriving at the summit on Thursday, the Greek Prime Minister stated: “This European Political Community and European Council meeting here in Budapest takes place during a time of significant geopolitical upheaval.
I would like to start by extending my congratulations to President Trump on his decisive victory and express my hope that the transatlantic relationship will remain robust in order to address crucial regional and global issues.
However, we must be realistic as Europeans and cannot approach this transatlantic partnership from a position of weakness. Europe may not be able to change the world, but it can certainly transform itself to face an ever-changing world.
Therefore, the discussions we will have at the European Council, particularly those concerning European competitiveness, are especially timely.”
Following Trump’s win, the Greek leader congratulated President-elect Donald Trump in the US elections, emphasizing that Greece-US ties have historically been “impeccable” while speaking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on issues related to the Greek Diaspora.
Mitsotakis, yesterday highlighted the longstanding, strategic nature of Greek-American relations, which he believes will continue to strengthen under the new U.S. administration.
