Greek Prime Minister Says No US Military Base Will Be Created In Alexandroupolis

No military base of the United States is going to be created in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis in the northern part of the country, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2023) No military base of the United States is going to be created in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis in the northern part of the country, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday.

In October 2021, the United States inked a defense agreement with Greece, receiving access to several new military bases, including the port of Alexandroupolis and a military camp next to it.

"No. How the US could use it (the port), is clearly defined in the bilateral defense cooperation agreement," Mitsotakis said, answering a question whether a US base would be created in Alexandroupolis similar to the one the US already has on the Greek island of Crete.

The Greek prime minister noted that the port is of strategic importance to the country and the region, with the potential to become a part of a land corridor to the Black Sea that could be an alternative to the Bosphorus strait.

Media reported that the port was being used to transfer large amounts of Western military equipment to Ukraine, with Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos saying last year that it could be also used to send troops to Eastern Europe and Ukraine.

Western countries have been ramping up their military support for Kiev since February 24, when Russia began a military operation in Ukraine following calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In April, 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Ukraine. Russian officials have repeatedly said that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for the Russian military.