Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis’s visit to Russia and the signing of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline deal mark the final step in Greece’s lengthy diplomatic drive. This effort began under Constantine Karamanlis (during the trying Cold War years, what’s more), was continued by PASOK and is now finally bearing fruit.

Greece belonged and will continue to belong to the West, but it is located at that – beneficial to our interests – crossroads that allows it to form a bridge to the East. We should take full advantage of this geo-economic edge and consider the fact that every political party has applied this strategy as praiseworthy.

The world is changing rapidly and the emerging new landscape is constantly presenting new opportunities. And within this changing landscape, Greece now finds itself in a position to become a Southeast European energy hub. This possibility has been secured during Costas Karamanlis’s visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.