PM Mitsotakis addresses gathering of expatriates, Greek-Americans in Astoria

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday spoke at a large gathering of expatriate Greeks and Greek-Americans in the Astoria district of Queens, in NYC, where he emphasized that “… Church and language are two elements that maintain relations between the Diaspora and the homeland.”

Mitsotakis arrived in the United States at the head of a Greek government delegation to attend this week’s annual UN General Assembly. He spoke before the Assembly on Tuesday.

Among others, the center-right political leader pledged to work towards giving Greek citizens living abroad the right to vote from their place of residence. He pointed to a date of 2023 for achieving this goal, a long-standing demand by Greeks citizens living outside Greece. He also referred to the Cyprus problem in his address, hours after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the UN.

Messages were also read out by the Archbishop of America, His Eminence Elpidophoros, and Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Antonis Diamataris, who holds the expatriate Greeks and religious affairs portfolio.

Mitsotakis also said he brought up the issue of the reopening of Halki School of Theology, in his talks with Erdogan.

Turkish authorities closed the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s main seminary in 1971 and have refused to allow its reopening since then.

According to an unofficial briefing afterwards, the Turkish leader is reportedly examining the issue in a “…positive light”.

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