While British Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to 10 Downing Street in London with a handshake…
@theresa_may is welcoming @tsipras_eu @10DowningStreet #tsipras #UK #London pic.twitter.com/4g7saa8pGD
— Evdoxia Lymperi (@EvdoxiaL) June 26, 2018
Different kinds of “welcomes” were taking place for him elsewhere.
The day before his meeting with May, Tsipras met with scientists and members of the business community who left Greece during the years of the financial crisis.
While people inside the gathering described Tsipras as “very engaging” and responsive to the dialogue with the young Greek immigrants to the United Kingdom, outside, a different story was unfolding.
Upon his departure from the Hellenic Centre, a small— but vocal group of protestors chanted “traitor,” and screamed “You sold Macedonia for 30 pieces of gold” as he got into his awaiting car and drove away.
Meanwhile, at the Greek Embassy in London, more protestors gathered with Greek flags and a hand-painted sign that reads “traitors.”
Tsipras is in London to pitch Greece’s role as a bulwark of stability in the Balkans and to encourage British investment, following the debt relief deal he negotiated with the Eurogroup and Greece’s departure from its nearly-decade long financial crisis.
During his visit, he also met with the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Great Britain, Gregory.
Cover photo from Takis Moussas via Facebook. Photos of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras with Archbishop Gregory and Hellenic Centre via the Greek Prime Minister’s official Twitter account.
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