FM begins US visit in Chicago, to meet with UN chief on Sunday

Avramopoulos, who is to address the UN General Assembly and meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon later in the week, said that the struggle being currently waged by Greece "is in the right direction" and, noting the efforts of the Athens government to deal with the crisis and the sacrifices of the Greek people, said that "Greece has started to regain its credibility in Europe".

"We are at the core, in the heart, of a battle, a struggle, a war. The previous generations have lived through other wars that killed people and destroyed buildings. We, at this time, are living through a war that may have not killed people or destroyed buildings, but tends to kill dreams and hopes. You speak daily with relatives and friends in Greece and are well aware that we are going through a tough period," Avramopoulos told the gathering.

He said that the current three-party coalition government is a "government of national cooperation", adding the wish that other political parties had also joined, because it bears the message that "national unity is that which must guide us in times of difficulty".

He said that the battle being waged "is in the right direction" and that Greece, despite the crisis, remains one of the most fundamental factors of stability and security in a region that has recently begun to portend adverse impact on the entire world, given the situations in North Africa, the Middle East and SE Europe.

On Greek-US relations, Avramopoulos said that the US has held a very cautious stance on the issue of the economic crisis in Greece, adding that the first positive messages and the first words of support had come from the US. "We must acknowledge this, and this is why it is a strategic choice of Greece to further strengthen its relations with the US in the future. One of the messages I convey on this mission here and in a series of contacts that have been made up to now with the Secretary of State, Mrs. Clinton, and with other officials who visited Greece. This is a joint decision of ours," the foreign minister added.

Avramopoulos will spend Thursday in Chicago, before heading on to Boston.

The Greek foreign minister flies to New York on Sunday to attend the proceedings of the 67th UN General Assembly, after which he will meet with UN chief Ban Ki-moon, with whom he will have the opportunity to discuss the Cyprus issue, the FYROM name issue and other topics of regional and international interest.

SOURCE: ATHENS NEWS AGENCY