Foreign Minister Avramopoulos’ statement following his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

The marathon of meetings here at the General Assembly continues, and a short while ago I met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with whom we had a substantial, sincere and heartfelt discussion that lasted quite a while and covered the whole range of issues of common interest.

Of course, I mentioned the economic crisis and the social implications it might have, as well as the dangers the crisis holds for the European structure and the global economy. I set out the positions and policy of the Greek government, which is leading things towards Greece’s emerging from the crisis and, mainly, convincing its partners of its credibility and seriousness. But it is a policy that, in its turn, has social implications, because it has to do with great sacrifices on the part of the Greek people. And Mrs. Clinton recognized this and stressed this at the beginning of our conversation.

But we also talked about regional issues, like our relations with neighbouring countries and the shifts taking place in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region. We talked about the Arab Spring, issues like that of Syria, and we of course saw a convergence of views regarding the policy that needs to be adopted in order for the Syrian crisis to be resolved and for the road to open to democratization of the region and the shaping of an environment of security and cooperation.

I  had the opportunity to point up the strategic, central role Greece plays in this region of the Mediterranean, and how in line Greece is with the common principles that bring us together within the framework of the international organizations.

We completed our talks in this spirit and having discussed these topics, and we reiterated our mutual desire to meet again soon to review the situation again and discuss a number of initiatives that bring our two countries closer together. Because Greece and the U.S. have been strategic partners for many decades now, and we have now brought our relations to the best possible level. So we need to deepen our relations even further, to the benefit our two countries, while also deepening our joint participation in the Atlantic Alliance and all the international agencies.