US envoy says Greece’s position ‘unique’ in Europe’s southern flank

Greece's position in the world is "unique" along Europe's southern flank as it occupies a challenging  strategic geography, US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt said on Monday, speaking at Greece's army school, the Hellenic National Defense College.

"We see Greece’s position as critical and unique in the world, and particularly along Europe’s southern flank," he said.

Pyatt explained that, from a US point of view, the country exists at the nexus of three separate strategic problem sets: the ongoing Syrian conflict, the threat of Iran and asymmetric threats from the eastern Mediterranean, the refugee flows and problems in Libya in the south, and the influence of Russia exercised through the annexation of Crimea and increased militarization of the Black Sea in the north.

"Greece is a critical ally in dealing with all three of these problems," he said.