CORFU — President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, who has been in Corfu since Thursday for the historic anniversary of the integration of the Ionian Islands with Greece, on Friday laid a wreath at the Monument of the Union of the Ionian Islands.

"Today we celebrate the integration of the Ionian Islands in the national body, which was the first expansion of Greece after it was established as an independent state in 1832.

We commemorate the glorious morning of May 21, 1864, when the British guards were replaced by Greek military units, the Greek flag was raised at the fortress of Corfu and Thrasyvoulos Zaimis, as a proxy of King George I, officially accepted the handover of the Ιοnian islands

A moment of national joy, which granted the Ionian Islands the much coveted union with Greece and our country an island complex with a long history, a high level of culture and a passionate, democratic ethos," the President of the Republic said after the event.

President Sakellaropoulou was proclaimed an honorary citizen of Corfu, during a ceremony held at the Michael and St. George Palace. She was also awarded the medal of Corfiot Merit by Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands Mayor Meropi Ydreou.

The ceremony was attended by the Corfu, Paxoi and Diapontia Islands Metropolitan Nektarios, Interior Minister Makis Voridis, island MPs, Ionian Islands Region governor Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou and other officials.