VASSILIS NEDOS

Silent anxiety before Erdogan visits Athens

The government is preparing for the High Cooperation Council (HCC) meeting between Greece and Turkey, which will be held in Athens on December 7, with no high hopes, but also with no fear of a breakdown in relations at this stage.

US, French armored vehicles in Xanthi

The importance that Athens attaches to the fortification of critical border areas such as Thrace with the presence of Greece’s closest allies is reflected in the attendance on Friday of Defense Minister Nikos Dendias for the final phase of the Olympic Cooperation – 23 military exercise in Xanthi.

23.11.2023 / 14:25

East Med described as potential flashpoint

The challenges facing Greece and other countries in the region and Turkey’s increasingly aggressive role in the Eastern Mediterranean, with a tendency to become a powder keg for a number of reasons, are the focus of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) study “Turbulence in the Eastern Mediterranean” and analysis on the geopolitical and security situation in the region.

22.11.2023 / 08:29

Athens increases pressure on Tirana

The visit paid on Tuesday to Tirana by Greece’s State Minister Stavros Papastavrou to the incarcerated ethnic Greek mayor-elect of Himare in southern Albania and the choice not to meet with Albanian officials was a clear message to the government of Edi Rama regarding Athens’ intentions with regard to the fate of Fredi Beleri, who has remained in custody for seven months on voting fraud charges.

21.11.2023 / 07:26

Concern in Athens over Turkish statements

The timing of recent comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Turkish Navy Chief Ercument Tatlioglu ahead of the scheduled meeting of the High Cooperation Council (HCC) between Greece and Turkey in Athens, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are seen as signs of a deteriorating atmosphere in Greek-Turkish relations.

16.11.2023 / 09:11

Athens taking bigger role in Gaza aid

As demands from partners and allies in the wider region start to arrive in Athens, Greece is organizing missions and supplying humanitarian aid to relieve the civilians in the Gaza Strip more actively.

11.11.2023 / 09:10

Greece sets up first barrier to Albania

Greece’s decision not to agree to a joint letter of the 27 European Union member-states to Albania on the opening of negotiations of the first package of accession chapters constitutes a substantial escalation of the hard stance toward Tirana due to the ongoing violation of the rights of Fredi Beleri, an ethnic Greek who was jailed just before he was elected mayor of Himare in the neighboring country’s local elections.

06.11.2023 / 11:24

Embracing military tech innovation

The Greek armed forces are to link with local startups from which they can order advanced equipment and applications, according to draft legislation that will be opened to public consultation next week.

04.11.2023 / 08:20

Bilateral ties with China reaffirmed

Highlighting the strong bilateral ties between the two countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed the hope that “Greece will continue to play a creative role” in developing Sino-European relations, after meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Beijing on Friday.

03.11.2023 / 10:09

Double standards weighing down Beleri case

Defense attorneys in the trial of ethnic Greek mayor-elect Fredi Beleri on vote-buying charges in Albania are highlighting what they call the different standards deployed by the Albanian judiciary.

02.11.2023 / 19:09

Cyprus playing pivotal role in evacuation plans

Although Cyprus is not a NATO member, the presence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s staff members in their national capacity is increasing as the island takes center stage in the evacuation operations of US and other Western civilians from Israel and Lebanon.

31.10.2023 / 12:39

Athens eyes key role in Mideast aid

The role that Greece can play as a key hub for the transport of humanitarian aid by sea to the Middle East has been at the center of the government’s recent contacts.

29.10.2023 / 20:21

Greece serving as hub between two wars

After the outbreak of war in the Middle East, Greece is practically the only reliable partner of the US in a region that is in constant turmoil.

26.10.2023 / 09:19

Souda base key to US contingency plans

The readiness to activate contingency plans for the evacuation of US nationals from Israel and Lebanon is the primary reason that a large number of US military transport aircraft have been transferred to Crete Air Base at Souda Bay in recent days. A similar role, albeit significantly limited, will be played by the 112 Combat […]

25.10.2023 / 08:31

Beleri case upsets Albania political scene

The case of Fredi Beleri, the ethnic Greek elected mayor of Himare, in southern Albania, who is being tried by a special court on charges of corruption, is stoking tensions on the domestic political scene.