The visit of the Greek Prime Minister to Chicago and Washington bears with it strong political, economic and diplomatic symbolism, and on Fridayy Alexis Tsipras leaves with the Greek mission for the United States.

The Vice President of the United States Mike Pence and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras discussed in a phone call on Monday bilateral ties, Greece’s NATO contributions and the end of the Cyprus talks, according to a White House readout.

Pence also congratulated Tsipras on Greece’s progress towards overcoming the economic crisis. The full statement is as follows: