Greek Prime Minister: NATO Plays an Important Role in Stablity and Security

The dramatic developments in Ukraine demonstrate the great importance of an organization which offers stability and security such as NATO, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Friday after his meeting with the secretary general of the organization Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Samaras said they exchanged views on all issues ahead of the NATO summit in Wales in September and they discussed the conclusion of the mission in Afghanistan. “We want stability and security,” but conditions are difficult, the prime minister noted. “The institutional mechanism should always be activated and this is how cooperation with Israel will be achieved,” Samaras said. Regarding the enlargement of NATO, he said: “Any new candidacy is evaluated, there are the pre-accession stages and each country must meet the criteria set by the alliance which is a community of democratic values.” On his part, Rasmussen condemned the bloodshed in Ukraine. “I urge all members to stop the spiral of violence,” he said adding that the Ukrainian government had a responsibility to ensure that the army would not be involved. “The only way forward is through dialogue,” he underlined. “We are in the cradle of democracy and democracy is the foundation of NATO. Democracy is in danger in the wider neighborhood. Greece has an active participation in the alliance,” the secretary general said. “We want a strong Europe to ensure our interests,” he stressed adding that “we turn the page in our relationship with Afghanistan.” (source: ana-mpa)

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com