(MENAFN) Greece is navigating a delicate path to strengthen relations with the United States while avoiding tensions with China, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, local media reported Friday.

Speaking to media at the New Economy Forum in Singapore, Mitsotakis addressed concerns surrounding the Chinese-operated Port of Piraeus, emphasizing Athens’ goal of maintaining a strategic middle ground between Washington and Beijing, according to media.

“I think we can find a way to absolutely work with the Americans and we want to do that. We’ve already signed deals to prove that we can construct win-win arrangements without, in the process, questioning investments made in the past and whose structure needs to be respected,” he said.

“Deals that were done by previous governments need to be respected,” Mitsotakis added.

The remarks follow a recent call by US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle for Athens to explore options to reduce Chinese influence in the port, including potentially selling the Chinese-managed facility. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Athens responded on the US social media platform X, asserting that “this constitutes malicious defamation of the normal Sino-Greek commercial cooperation and a serious interference in Greece's internal affairs.”

COSCO, a Chinese state-owned company, initially secured a 35-year concession in 2008 to operate Piers II and III of the port for €490 million. In April 2016, COSCO acquired a 51% stake in the Piraeus Port Authority for €280.5 million, which rose to 67% in 2021 following an additional €86 million investment.

Last week, Guilfoyle told a private broadcaster that Washington seeks to remove Chinese involvement in the port. “It is unfortunate, but I think there’s ways around it, that something could be worked out, whether you pursue a path of enhancing output in other areas or perhaps that Piraeus could be for sale,” she said.

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