Pyatt: Greece is a crucial ally within NATO
Greece was and remains a crucial NATO ally for strengthening the southeastern wing of the Alliance, US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt said on Wednesday.
He also hailed the start of an evacuation of Greek citizens from the Mariupol area, as well as the fact that Greece was keeping its diplomatic representation there open. Pyatt praised his fellow diplomats, the ambassador and consul general, who decided to remain in Mariupol, as well as the Greek journalists that decided to remain the city to record the violence there, including Russian air raids near Sartana.
The US ambassador went on to say that he was "acutely sensitive to the hundreds of years of Hellenistic identity the city possesses" and noted that the last week "was obviously extremely painful for all of us, as we watched the horrific violence that Russia imposed on the people of Ukraine, through a premeditated invasion of a sovereign, democratic country."
While the images of the Russian attacks on civilian areas in large European cities was terrifying, he added, "we draw encouragement from the resilience and the self-confidence that the brave Ukrainians have shown."
Citing Tuesday's speech by US President Joe Biden, Pyatt said that the United States will stand by the Ukrainians and pledged to cooperate with all its democratic allies and partners in the world to ensure Russia faces serious costs for its actions, as well as working with its allies in NATO to defend every inch of NATO territory.
