On February 29 the Delphi Forum announced a postponement until late spring due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak that had just hit several major Greek cities, but some travellers and groups from distant capitals did not have the time or inclination to cancel their Greece travel plans since certain travellers/groups had already arranged supplementary programmes in Athens for the days before the Forum, which was due to start in Delphi on March 5.
Whether or not the Delphi Forum’s last-minute postponement message arrived in time for the American participants to react is a separate discussion because serious organizations tend to plan important travel many months in advance. In any event, in addition to some Greek-American groups, one high level US Government official continued with his arranged visit programme to Greece.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Palmer, responsible for the Balkan region and Greece-Turkey-Cyprus affairs, spent March 5 in Athens meeting with Greek officials and attended an event that could be called “a mini-Delphi Forum”. He is visiting Northern Greece on March 6, although some travel plans are in flux.
Palmer’s visit received scant press attention as the media focus in Greece is currently on the refugee and coronavirus crises.
Palmer met with Development Minister Antonis Georgiadis, and Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. When there was a moment for non-crisis discussions, regional energy issues, EU Enlargement, and the privatisation tenders for northern Greek ports and related investments were discussed.
A productive meeting with DAS Matt Palmer @StateDept once again in Athens, discussing EU enlargement in #WesternBalkans, the migration issue and the recent developments in the Greek-Turkish borders. @USEmbassyAthens
🇺🇸🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/m6r8n9S540— Varvitsiotis Miltiadis (@MVarvitsiotis) March 5, 2020
The mini-Delphi Forum event was hastily laid on for Palmer March 5 in Athens, giving him the opportunity to utilise the Greece-specific messages prepared for his now-postponed Delphi Forum speech. At least a few minutes were found to focus on recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, a major subject of this year’s now-postponed Forum session.
#HappeningNow! @StateDept DAS Matt Palmer at @delphi_forum event in conversation with @nstamouli: This is a remarkable moment in the US-Greece relationship…we look forward to further this important partnership. pic.twitter.com/jfxTO8MkgL
— U.S. Embassy Athens (@USEmbassyAthens) March 5, 2020
As far as Athens is concerned, the US role in both the current refugee crisis emanating from Turkey’s domestic decisions on border controls as well as the Covid virus outbreak (45 cases currently reported) is minimal.
Palmer is travelling to the northern Greek city of Alexandroupolis on March 6, close to the Evros River border with Turkey, but has no plans to proceed onward to Turkey from there.
