Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to the bicentennial of the Greek War of Independence, which coincided with a pandemic-battered 2021 last year, and the revolutionary struggle’s inspiration from the American Revolution nearly a half decade before, during his arrival at the US Capitol on Tuesday, where he was greeted by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
The meeting came just before Mitsotakis addressed a joint Congressional session, a rare honor for a foreign head of state or government, and the first by a Greek leader.
In comments later echoed in his address to US Representatives and Senators, Mitsotakis pointed to the inspiration for the American founding fathers from ancient Athens’ democracy, and the “repayment” made nearly two and a half millennia later with modern Greece’s struggle for independence from dour Ottoman rule.
He also underlined the common path followed by the two countries in the modern era, as allies in two world wars.
The press release by Pelosi’s office reads:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a photo opportunity with His Excellency Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, ahead of a bipartisan leadership meeting. Below are the Speaker’s remarks:
Speaker Pelosi. Good morning, everyone. It is an honor, indeed, to welcome the Prime Minister of Greece to the Capitol.
Greece, as you know, has been the source of democratic principles since ancient times. They were a source of inspiration to us and the founding of our country. And then we were a source of inspiration to the Greeks, when they established their democracy 200 and – two years ago?
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. One.
Speaker Pelosi. One. One year ago – 201 years ago. We couldn’t observe that two years ago – one year ago – because of COVID. But again, all the more reason to double down on our celebration this year.
Yesterday, the President welcomed the Prime Minister, as you know, to the White House and the beautiful ceremony of friendship, welcome and respect. We do so here today, with gratitude for our friendship in NATO from a security standpoint, with recognition for Greece’s role in helping the Ukrainian refugees since the brutal invasion of Ukraine and our fight against COVID and our – approaching the challenge of climate.
So, for these and many reasons, we have a lot to discuss today.
But we always like to say: we learned from the Greeks, the Greeks learned from us, and now we’re together as democratic nations. Very proud to welcome the Prime Minister Mitsotakis to the Capitol.
Yes, today is a celebration of democracy. What better way to celebrate it than to have an address to the Joint Session of Congress by the Prime Minister of Greece?
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