Tsipras to Greek Diaspora: Thanks for the Efforts of the Greek People We Managed to Exit the Crisis (Video)

“Thanks to the efforts of the Greek people, we managed to exit the regime of harsh surveillance. Today we are all determined to turn the page,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the Greek Diaspora in New York on Wednesday.

The Greek prime minister addressed members of the Greek Diaspora in a reception organized by the Greek Consulate General at Hilton Millenium in New York. He spoke about Greece’s exit from the bailout program, and the day after, expressed optimism that Greece will soon be at the path of growth and explained to the audience the reasoning behind the Prespa agreement over the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Tsipras expressed his gratitude to the Greek expatriates for their important ceaseless efforts, praising their confidence that Greece could overcome the great difficulties and stand on its feet again.

Greek people left behind the difficult period that started in 2010, he said. An eight-year period when Greece lost a great part of its economic sovereignty, but managed to become a normal country again.

Moreover, Tsipras said, Greece regained its lost geopolitical role and its importance as a country of stability in a destabilized region. “Greece is playing a leading role in the Southeastern Mediterranean and Europe,” he stressed.

Regarding the FYROM name agreement, the Greek prime minister said that it was a difficult decision to make but claimed that his government did so with a sense of patriotic duty. He said that the name agreement protects Greece’s history and at the same time resolves a 30-year-old problem.

The Prespa agreement, Tsipras said, upgrades Greece’s geopolitical role and makes Greece a protagonist in the southeastern Mediterranean.

Watch full speech below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7w3965qcCo&feature=youtu.be