The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon extended his gratitude to the Greek people for the solidarity and generosity they demonstrated in the refugee crisis, during his meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens.

During the meeting on Saturday, the UN Secretary-General also congratulated the Greek Prime Minister for his leadership in the reforms being carried out in Greece, underlining that Greece is an important UN partner.

On his behalf, PM Tsipras explained that while Greece experienced an unexpected humanitarian crisis, the government, state and he himself personally was proud on how the Greek people treated the arriving refugees with solidarity and humanity. The Greek Prime Minister also stated that thanks to the EU-Turkey agreement the flow of refugees was curbed and there are no more deaths in the Aegean.

After the meeting, there will be a press conference, after which point the UN Secretary-General will travel to the island of Lesvos, where he will meet with refugees, asylum seekers and volunteers.