Washington is probably not the place to be as a guest these days. Amidst vast political pressure over Donald Trump due to the impeachment process, which is under way, and the debate sparkled after his decision to authorise the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis travelled to Washington to meet with the US President and other senior members of his cabinet, including Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Coincidentally, Mitsotakis’ visit to the White House was the first occasion when the American media got to ask Trump questions about the killing of Soleimani and the Iranian response.
Mitsotakis, on the other side, was aware of the difficulties of the visit for various reasons. However, he knew that the timing was positive, since the Greek-American relationships has not historically been tighter. The level of cooperation is increasing with the two countries having recently announced the renewal of the bilateral Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in October, during Pompeo’s visit in Athens.
Furthermore, top-US officials recognise the importance of Greece as an anchor of stability in a region characterised by turbulence and volatility. This argument is also strengthened by the recent signature of the EastMed pipeline by Greece, Israel and Cyprus, a project that is of interest to Washington.
Greece’s request – a mediation by the US to reduce tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, due to the provocative stance of Turkey, which reached new heights some weeks ago with the signature of the Turkish-Libyan Memorandum of Understanding for the announcement of an Exclusive Economic Zone between the two countries.
The strategic relationship between the US and Turkey is stable, despite the stance of Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan, which is infuriating the State Department and Senate. Therefore, the strategic objective of Greece was to get the US on board in an effort to deescalate the tension and avoid further developments that will be highly problematic.
According to Greek officials, Mitsotakis’ visit is regarded as successful, due to the US’ active participation in the region. The undertaking of diplomatic initiatives to decrease the tension was also confirmed by Pompeo in a discussion with Greece’s SKAI TV.
Furthermore, Greece is going to be part of the provision programme for the F-35 fighter planes. Turkey was also interested in purchasing the F-35, however this was blocked by the Senate due to Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 anti-missile system.
Greece is expected to be part of the programme after negotiations starting in 2024 and after the conclusion of the renewal process of the F-16s that are already in the possession of the Greek Air Force.
The sporadic European response Mitsotakis’ trip to Washington and the effort to bring the US in as a peace and stability broker in the region was also imperative due to the EU’s sporadic response to the Turkish provocations.
Up to this point and despite condemnation of the Turkish-Libyan MoU, the EU has been reluctant to push Erdogan any further, due to the necessary balance required in the management of the refugee crisis. Only France and Italy have been the harshest critics of Turkey’s activity.
These countries have a strategic interest in the region, due to the participation of vast energy companies of the respective countries in drilling activities at first in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone and, in the near future, in the Greek territorial waters. Furthermore, France and Italy participated in the trilateral meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Greece, Egypt and Cyprus in Cairo, some days ago, with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Yves Le Drian signing the joint Communique, which characterized the Turkish-Libyan MoU as “null and void”.
Germany, at the same time, is maintaining a largely diplomatic approach, since it considers Turkey to be a key player in the management of refugee flows. As a result, Berlin has not exercised pressure over Ankara and, at the same time, the EU’s foreign policy is significantly incomplete and lacks effective tools of application.
What remains to be seen at this point is how the American brokering of the situation in the region is going to function in the coming weeks. According to Greek government officials, the first signals have been sent from Washington to Ankara through the necessary channels.
Greece is keeping up the high tempo of diplomatic initiatives in order better position itself on the chessboard with Mitsotakis preparing for his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos in approximately 10 days.