Foreign Minister Avramopoulos meets with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Gordon

Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos met on Friday, 28 July 2012, with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Philip H. Gordon.

Mr. Avramopoulos and Mr. Gordon had the opportunity to discuss developments bearing on the economic crisis in Europe and the Greek government’s resolve to successfully meet the challenges facing the Greek economy. They also discussed Greek-U.S. bilateral cooperation issues and regional developments in the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans.

Mr. Avramopoulos briefed Mr. Gordon on Greece’s positions on the Syrian crisis, underscoring the need to protect minorities in Syria as a basic component of any political transition process. They also talked about the course of Greek-Turkish relations, the impasse in the negotiations on the Cyprus issue resulting from the Turkish side’s stance, and Turkish threats against the Republic of Cyprus regarding the latter’s exercising of its sovereign rights.

Mr. Avramopoulos underscored Greece’s stabilizing role in the wider region and its will to move ahead to the delimitation of all maritime zones with its neighbors, stressing Greece’s efforts to promote the European and Euroatlantic integration of the Western Balkan countries. Regarding the FYROM name issue, the Foreign Minister expressed his disappointment at the constant provocative statements from Prime Minister Gruevski and reiterated that the Greek government is seeking a credible collocutor so that progress can be made on this issue, the resolution of which Greece has consistently pursued.

Mr. Gordon conveyed the greetings of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her desire to meet with Mr. Avramopoulos soon, stressing that the U.S. will continue to support the Greek government’s efforts to confront the crisis.