US secretary of state visits a solid ally
The visit to Athens by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is another piece in the puzzle of Greece’s increasing geopolitical significance in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Blinken, for whom Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hosted a dinner on Monday evening, will inaugurate the 4th Greece-US Strategic Dialogue on Tuesday along with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias. He will also meet with former prime minister and main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras.
Deepening cooperation on defense and energy security, with the port of Alexandroupoli developing into a strategic point of entry, is high on the agenda of Blinken’s visit, as is Greece’s stabilizing role in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean and its clear and comprehensive stance in the war in Ukraine.
Blinken came to Athens from Ankara where, after talks with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, he stated that the upgrade of Turkey’s F-16s and the sale of new ones is a national and security interest for the Biden Administration. For obvious reasons, Athens is concerned by the US Administration’s support for unconditionally offering Turkey F-16 fighter jets despite Ankara’s insistence on flying them inside Greek airspace and even over Greek territory, a behavior that has led many in Congress to oppose the deal.
In a separate issue, the future procurement of F-35 jets to to further enhance the capabilites of the Hellenic Air Force points to the deepening US-Greece bilateral relationship.
In any case, the big picture is clear: the US, both the Administration and Congress, value Greece’s contribution to the Ukraine war and more generally its role as a strong and reliable ally in a volatile region.
The US secretary of state’s also visit came a few hours after that by Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan.
One of the major gateways into the European Union, Greece adopts a pragmatic approach to foreign job-generating investments – not in sensitive areas – while safeguarding and clearly communicating where its geopolitical compass is pointing, regardless of governments; both the present one from the Right, and its predecessor from the Left, have shown with deeds, not only words, their adherence to western values and their steadfast dedication to Euro-Atlantic institutions.
