WASHINGTON – The Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton welcomed Archbishop Demetrios of America yesterday at the State Department, as a good friend and an inspirational leader. The early afternoon meeting lasted about 50 minutes.

Following the conclusion of the meeting Archbishop Demetrios made the following statement to members of the Press:

It was a good meeting held in a cordial and sincere atmosphere where the issues of concern that are pending and relate to the Patriarchate, Cyprus and the issue of the name of FYROM were clearly addressed. I can not go into details, but I can tell you that the issues that were raised and our positions were considered very seriously and therefore we leave with a clear hope that there will be a serious attempt to resolve these pending issues.

Later in the afternoon Archbishop Demetrios paid a visit to Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL). The discussion revolved around issues of religious freedom pertaining to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

To see photos from the visit with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton follow this link:

http://photos.goarch.org/main.php?g2_itemId=2422

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Contact: Stavros Papagermanos   
Tel.:  212-570-3530
Email:  pressoffice@goarch.org