President Barack Obama was girding for more questions about his successor Tuesday as his final presidential overseas trip began in Greece, participating in a news conference alongside Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Obama called Greece a “reliable ally” in its commitment to NATO, even under tremendous strain from the country’s debt crisis.
“We are proud to count Greece as one of our closest allies and one of our greatest friends,” Obama said at the news conference, and commended the country’s ability to meet its financial obligations to NATO despite austerity measures.
Global leaders have expressed concerns over how President-elect Donald Trump has suggested while on the campaign trail that the US might not keep its international commitments, including NATO.
Air Force One touched down at the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport just past 3:30 a.m. ET (10:30 a.m. local) on Tuesday, where Obama was greeted with a red carpet and an ornate display of military pageantry.
In the morning preceding his news conference, Obama paid a courtesy call to Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, where the US President hailed NATO as “absolutely vital and the transatlantic relationship is the cornerstone of our mutual security and prosperity.”
During a news conference from the White House, Obama was peppered Monday with queries about Trump, whom the President said had affirmed a commitment to transatlantic ties during their meeting in the Oval Office last week.
“In my conversation with the President-elect, he expressed a great interest in maintaining our core strategic relationships,” Obama said. “And so one of the messages I will be able to deliver is his commitment to NATO and the Transatlantic Alliance. I think that’s one of the most important functions I can serve at this stage, during this trip, is to let them know that there is no weakening of resolve when it comes to America’s commitment to maintaining a strong and robust NATO relationship, and a recognition that those alliances aren’t just good for Europe, they’re good for the United States, and they’re vital for the world.”
Obama also sat for formal talks with Tsipras at the neo-classical presidential mansion in central Athens. For the second day in a row, he was planning to take questions from reporters.
Ahead of his meeting, Obama said he would emphasize that debt reduction strategies beyond austerity must be utilized in Europe going forward.
“I will continue to emphasize our view that austerity alone cannot deliver prosperity,” Obama said, who traveling with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who was expected to discuss Greece’s persistent debt crisis with officials here.
Obama’s final international swing will also bring him to Germany and Peru, where questions about President-elect Trump are set to dominate his conversations with foreign counterparts.