ATHENS – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday briefed President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou regarding his visit to the United States and his meeting with US President Joe Biden, as well as his meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Mitsotakis particularly emphasised the wave of high prices triggered by the war in Ukraine, making it clear that the government does not intend to leave society unprotected.

“At the next extraordinary EU Summit in Brussels, I will repeat how important it is to end our reliance on Russian fuel but also how important it is, in the short-term, to support households and enterprises,” he said.

“We can’t leave society, the households and enterprises, unprotected in the face of rising energy rates,” he explained, adding that the government will soon announce a comprehensive plan designed to conserve energy.

Referring to his visit to the US, Mitsotakis said he had a series of meetings in which he raised the entire framework of bilateral relations and made historical references to the relations binding Greece and the USA. Mitsotakis said he had also briefed US officials on the situation prevailing in the Eastern Mediterranean, adding: “It is important that we should not have other sources of tension within NATO against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine”.

Mitsotakis underlined that his recent contacts abroad reaffirmed Greece’s enhanced geopolitical and economic role, noting that it was now viewed as “a serious and reliable partner, which has found its way and has a bright future ahead.”

On her part, Sakellaropoulou pointed out that “measures against the high prices are also the EU’s responsibility,” adding that “Greece needs to have strong allies. It is a national necessity that Greece’s voice be strong in as many fora as possible. Democracy and our way of life are threatened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.