AHI President Meets with American Ambassador in Athens

Also Presents Briefing for AHI Foundation-sponsored Foreign Policy Class

WASHINGTON, DC — American Hellenic Institute (AHI) President Nick Larigakis met with U.S. Ambassador to Greece Daniel B. Smith at the American embassy in Athens to review Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s July visit to Greece and Turkey. The meeting with Ambassador Smith occurred July 25, 2011.

“I had a very productive meeting with Ambassador Smith,” said AHI President Nick Larigakis, who took time from his vacation to meet with the ambassador.  “We discussed the content of my recent op-ed that critiqued the secretary’s visit to the region. I appreciated his thoughts about Secretary Clinton’s visit, and I expressed AHI’s concern about her reference to 2012 being a year that Turkey believes would be an appropriate time for a Cyprus resolution.”

Larigakis emphasized that there cannot be any artificial deadlines placed on finding a Cyprus solution just to appease Turkey or any other third party.

Pertaining to Greece, Larigakis stated Secretary Clinton’s words of support for Greece and the reform measures the country has taken were welcomed. He added that the secretary’s recognition of Greece’s partnership on the core issues of importance to the alliance and Greece’s contributions to the shared values the U.S. and Greece share were positive statements.

AHI President Briefs AHEPA Journey to Greece Students

Also on July 25, AHI President Nick Larigakis provided a briefing to students who are enrolled in a “U.S.-Greece Foreign Relations Policy Class” as part of the AHEPA Journey to Greece Program. The class was made possible with the generous sponsorship of the American Hellenic Institute Foundation (AHIF) and held at the University of Indianapolis, Athens campus.

Larigakis covered numerous topics, including Secretary Clinton’s July visit to the region, the FYROM name-recognition issue, the Cyprus issue, and the plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey.

“This is a wonderful example of the long history of cooperation between AHEPA and AHI this time to the benefit of the youth,” said Larigakis. “It is encouraging to see young Greek-Americans take an active interest in foreign policy and an overall desire to embrace and come closer in touch with their heritage and roots. It is a pleasure for AHIF to sponsor this class, and we hope the students will continue to follow these issues, and become more engaged, going forward.”

The students also attended a screening of the AHI Foundation-supported documentary “Cyprus Still Divided: A U.S. Foreign Policy Failure” on July 26.

The American Hellenic Institute is a non-profit Greek American public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.

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For additional information, please contact Demetra Atsaloglou at (202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at https://www.ahiworld.org.