Greek PM welcomes NATO-Russia thaw

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Warsaw on Saturday, when the military alliance announced that it would launch a new naval mission in the Mediterranean.

Ahead of Tsipras’s brief meeting with the US leader, during which a range of topics including the refugee crisis were discussed, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance will also launch a new maritime operation in the Mediterranean, Operation Sea Guardian, and cooperate closely with the European Union’s efforts to halt human smuggling operations.

During a dinner for the leaders of the 28 NATO member-states on Friday evening, Tsipras is said to have stressed the need for the alliance to enter into constructive talks with Russia. He also welcomed the recent decision to reconvene the NATO-Russia Council after an almost two-year hiatus.