ATHENS — Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and US President Joe Biden reaffirmed the strategic nature of Greek-US cooperation for security and prosperity in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region during a phone contact late on Thursday.

According to sources from the prime minister's office, Biden stressed that today Greece is a critical ally in NATO, with active action for peace and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea and Western Balkans, stressing the importance of defence cooperation between the two countries, with reference to the US forces in Souda.

On his part, Mitsotakis congratulated Biden on his election, expressing Greece's readiness for close cooperation with the United States in international fora, aiming at defending the common values of both countries, with emphasis on human rights and the fight against climate change.

The prime minister personally thanked the US President for the consistent support, adding that in the long-standing relationship between the two countries, the Greek-American community acts as a bridge.

According to the same sources, during the conversation between the two leaders, which took place in an exceptional climate, the US President congratulated the prime minister on the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, emphasizing that the same ideals of Freedom and Democracy inspired the American Revolution and continue to unite the two peoples.

He underlined that the people of the United States celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution as the culmination of the historic friendship between the two nations.

Biden also expressed his personal commitment to this friendship during his political career and praised the Greek-American community, with which he has a very close relationship, for its contribution to the progress and prosperity of the United States. Mitsotakis thanked the President of the United States for his wishes and stressed their importance for the whole of Hellenism.