Mitsotakis, Blinken discuss developments in Gaza and the Red Sea
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed developments in the Gaza Strip and the Red Sea, as well as concerns over free navigation amid Houthi attacks over the phone on Monday.
Mitsotakis was scheduled to visit to Washington later this week, but his trip will likely be postponed, as his office announced on Monday that he contracted the H1N1 virus. Tuesday’s cabinet meeting has been cancelled.
The Iran-aligned Houthi group has threatened to expand its targets in the Red Sea to protest against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza to include US ships, also in response to recent American and British strikes on its sites in Yemen.
Greece has taken a very clear stance on the war in the Middle East and has provided very important facilities for American interests. The latest move bolstering US interests is Greece’s participation in Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect merchant shipping routes through the Red Sea, as noted by Blinken during his visit to the Greek island of Hania in early January.
On Monday’s phone call, the two leaders also addressed bilateral issues ahead of the upcoming round of the Greece-US Strategic Dialogue scheduled for February in Washington.
