AHI Participates on State Department Call on Eastern Med Developments

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs & Special Representative for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer led the call for the State Department and Cyprus Desk Officer Isabelle Chen attended. President Nick Larigakis & Director of Legislative Affairs Elias Gerasoulis represented AHI.

“We appreciated the opportunity to voice our concerns about Turkey’s provocations with Deputy Assistant Secretary Palmer,” AHI President Nick Larigakis said. “As Ambassador Phil Reeker’s recent letter to AHI demonstrated, our advocacy is making an impact with officials at the highest levels of the State Department. We will continue to deliver the message that the United States must maintain high-level engagement with all parties involved to avoid a further escalation of tensions.”

 Gerasoulis added, “Conversations such as these are beneficial because they provide opportunities to share our perspectives about what is transpiring in the region as well as sharing the viewpoint of members of Congress toward Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey, and the Eastern Mediterranean overall, based upon our outreach to Congress.”

In addition to AHI, representatives of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (Order of AHEPA) and the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) participated on the call.