Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the tiny islets of Ro and Strongyli on Saturday morning, making the fir...

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the tiny islets of Ro and Strongyli on Saturday morning, making the first-ever joint visit by a Greek prime minister to both outposts in a single trip. He was accompanied by Parliamentary Speaker Nikitas Kaklamanis, Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Dimitris Houpis, and South Aegean Governor Giorgos Chatzimarkos. At Ro, Mitsotakis was briefed on a newly constructed pier, toured the outpost's new central building, dining facilities, and recently built military guest quarters. He also laid a wreath at the monument of the Lady of Ro, the legendary Greek woman who raised the Greek flag on the island every day until her death in 1982, and visited her house, which has since been converted into a museum. Mitsotakis also boarded the Hellenic Navy missile patrol boat "Ypoploiarchos Grigoropoulos," currently docked at Kastellorizo. Several Dodecanese members of parliament from New Democracy joined the visit, including Yannis Pappas, Emmanouel Konsolas, Mika Iatridis, and Vasilis-Nikolaos Ypsilantis. The prime minister said the government stands firmly beside the island cluster of Megisti, and that the goal is for the island to continue to prosper and attract more permanent residents. Ro and Strongyli sit at the eastern edge of Greek territory, just off the Turkish coast, making their military presence a matter of strategic significance for Greek sovereignty in the Aegean. #Greece #Aegean #Kastellorizo