President Donald Trump voiced “support for a responsible debt relief plan” for Greece after a meeting Tuesday at the White House with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Trump‘s predecessor, Barack Obama had also called for “meaningful debt relief” for Greece, a measure long advocated by the International Monetary Fund but resisted by European creditors.
“Greece has gone through a lot over the last number of years, but they are doing a terrific job of coming back,” Trump said. “And they will be back.”
President Trump thanked Greece for the support it offers to the US at Crete’s Souda Bay base and pointed to plans for boosting bilateral cooperation in several areas including the defense sector.
“Greece has always been a reliable ally and we’ve always been very reliable to them,” Trump said referring to Greek plans for a $ 2.4 bln upgrade its fleet of F-16 fighter jets.
Trump hailed Greece for being one of five NATO countries spending more than 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense. (Greece’s NATO spending as a proportion of GDP is second only to that of the US)
Edited for Apokoronas News
