Gerapetritis said Greece was willing to cooperate with the U.S. and provide maritime assistance in the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠if a viable peace process exists there.

Later Wednesday, Rubio will deliver a speech from Pnyx Hill, beneath the Acropolis, one of the most important sites of Athenian democracy. Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson said Rubio would use the opportunity to call for a “renewal of the Western spirit.”

Rubio will describe the shared inheritance of Americans and Europeans as stretching “from Athens and Rome to Christendom to the founding of the American Republic” and warn that Western civilization has forgotten some of its “essential qualities,” Rubio’s aide said.

The foreign policy chief stood by U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after U.S. senators and Greek opposition parties expressed concerns over reports that she had ​threatened to use U.S. influence to topple the Greek government.

“Suffice it ⁠to ​say, our embassy here is doing a ​great job. Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here,” Rubio said when asked whether Guilfoyle’s conduct is in compliance with State Department ethics.