PMTsipras: Greece and France share common values
"Your visit to Greece, following the visit of President Hollande at the end of last year, confirms the very close working relationship and mutual understanding between our countries," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday (03/06/2016) said welcoming his French counterpart Manuel Valls at the Maximos Mansion.
"Greece and France share common values and many times in our common European course we have defended the democratic acquis of our people and the vision for a Europe of social cohesion," he underlined and added that "we continue this common history, this common course, until today."
The French government supported Greece in very difficult times last summer, and that is something we must all recognize, Tsipras noted. He also stressed that the visit of the French Prime Minister in Athens today and his determination to make this visit despite the difficulties that France is facing these days marks the support and the cooperation between the two countries.
"The difficult times for Greece have now ended and the country has turned page. Now we can be more optimistic for the future. Now we can plan the steps of a return to growth with social justice," the Greek Prime Minister said and added: "Your support in this new period will be as important as that you provided us in the past difficult period."
On his part, the French Prime Minister said that "if we supported Greece to stay in the eurozone and if we supported the courageous reforms it was because Greece is in the heart of Europe." Valls also referred to the history and the role of Greece in Europe.
"Greece is necessary both for France and Europe," he stressed and expressed the hope that the next period will be a period of growth, hope and employment for all the Greeks. "We have to jointly consider the future of Europe and the issue of refugees where Greece is at the forefront, and France provides its solidarity are jointly build a model of growth with respect to rights," Valls stated.
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