Tuesday, October 3, 2023
 
 

John Kerry Graces Greece with a Mini-visit. Check off that box.

- Advertisement -

The real news is that the Kerry Greece visit actually happened December 4th.  That’s one more box to check off for last week’s European tour….after visiting France, Belgium, Kosovo, Serbia and Cyprus.  To many observers the Greek stop was merely a sideshow compared to the progress made on Balkan issues during Kerry’s week of travel.
In a nutshell, while in Athens, Secretary Kerry met with Greek PM Alexi Tsipras, Foreign Minister Kotsias and his team, answered two press questions (one of those was on another subject), visited a refugee support NGO and stopped at the ancient Agora for a brief tour.  A nice half day in sunny Athens.  That’s all folks.
We were hoping that more of substance would leak out over the weekend than simply the official pronouncements, but little real news has emerged at this point.
 
So here are just a few key observations:
–While The Secretary declared American support for Greece’s economic recovery at almost every juncture, there were no forward-leaning pronouncements on debt relief, which is going to happen in any event provided Greece delivers on its reform commitments to (European) creditors.
–Secretary Kerry refused to be drawn into Aegean maritime border issues with Turkey or the issue of Turkish overflights in the Aegean.
–Energy is clearly the key geostrategic concern here.  As the New Europe’s Energy Insider reported Friday, Kerry focused heavily on making sure the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Greece-Bulgaria interconnector projects, set in motion years ago, move ahead.  We did not hear the hoped-for announcement of an American investment in Alexandropoulos, connected to American LNG transshipments to Bulgaria, but we are hearing the project will move forward.
–Secretary Kerry signaled strong support for the work of NGOs in the refugee crisis by visiting the Melissa Network NGO, a move that was warmly-received by the Greek NGO community and many others.  While in Athens, Kerry also announced a new U.S. contribution of $24 million in refugee aid for the UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR).
–The Secretary avoided any real U.S. involvement in Greek domestic politics at this critical juncture.
–For Secretary Kerry’s remarks in Athens: http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/12/250362.htm
Mission accomplished. The boxes are all checked.

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

Co-founder and Executive Director for Global Economics and Southeast Europe at NE Global Media.  Former US diplomat with previous assignments in Eastern Europe, the UN, SE Asia, Greece, across the Balkans, as well as Washington DC.

Latest

Iran protesters mark anniversary of “Bloody Friday”

Residents in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and...

US announces Israel’s acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program

Israeli citizens will be allowed visa-free entry into the...

UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals

The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off...

Don't miss

Iran protesters mark anniversary of “Bloody Friday”

Residents in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and...

US announces Israel’s acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program

Israeli citizens will be allowed visa-free entry into the...

UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals

The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off...

Europe’s lawmakers see opportunity for regime change a year after Iran’s latest uprising

On September 21, representatives of various political groups held...

US announces Israel’s acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program

Israeli citizens will be allowed visa-free entry into the United States by the end of November when Israel officially becomes the 41st member of...

UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals

The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off in New York as planned on September 18, with global attention focused on the so-called...

Interest surges in Turkmen gas

Turkmenistan's huge gas reserves have been generating considerable interest from potential importers following Ashgabat's announcement in late July that it is open to the development...

European aviation industry embraces new jet fuel regulation

The European Parliament on September 13 approved a new law to increase the uptake of sustainable fuels, such as advanced biofuels or hydrogen, in...

US Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery announced

President Joe Biden announced on September 14 the appointment of Penny Pritzker as the US Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery.In this role, she...

With Armenia defeated tensions between Yerevan and Russia reach a turning point

Relations between Armenia and its traditional strategic partner Russia are deteriorating fast. With Yerevan's fundamental defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh - the 30-year-old Moscow-backed separatist region...

Nairobi Declaration calls for global tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport, aviation

As the curtains came down at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS23), heads of state and government adopted the Nairobi Declaration, calling on world leaders...

US-ASEAN establish a research center in Washington, D.C.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in Jakarta for a US-ASEAN Summit on September 6, announced Washington’s decision to establish a joint center with...