Obama’s Greece Visit – Dancing around the Greek debt minefield

- Advertisement -

First and foremost it was a great relief to see U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew step off the plane and quietly slip into the Presidential super-limo in Athens November 15, while President Obama was left handling the airport arrival and protocol formalities with Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos. While Obama’s final overseas trip is well staffed, no other cabinet-level official is traveling with President Obama on this (first) stop, which tells you Washington clearly understood precisely what Greek Prime Minister Tsipras is looking for.
American pre-departure statements about the Greece stop have sought to put a broader geopolitical perspective on the visit. The Greek side has given lip service to most of that before Obama arrived and focused on debt relief almost exclusively, with just a bit of attention to Cyprus, Turkey and the ongoing refugee crisis. President Obama’s statements routinely contain the checklist of issues Washington sees as important.
What we did not hear from President Obama on his first day in Greece was a promise to make locking in debt relief for Greece a priority before his term expires January 20. Instead he took a much more subtle approach arguing the need for Washington to convince Greece’s creditors to take steps to get Greece on the path for a sustainable recovery and to support a growth agenda. “We cannot look at austerity as a strategy” Obama said a joint press conference after meeting PM Tsipras November 15, also noting that Greece “needed space” for its structural reforms and nascent recovery to take hold. So what we have from President Obama is a pledge that he understands Greece’s sacrifices and will continue doing what he has been doing, but no indication that his successor will.
It remains to be seen how much work will be accomplished at tonight’s official dinner for President Obama at the Presidential Palace in Athens. Surely Jack Lew and Finance Minister Euclides Tsakalotos will have time to plot next steps on the debt issue over dinner, or perhaps Wednesday morning. Assuming of course that they make it to tonight’s dinner, with various Greek anarchist gangs loudly threatening to disrupt the proceedings if they possibly can. To be continued.

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

CEO/Editor-in-Chief.  Former US diplomat with previous assignments in Eastern Europe, the UN, SE Asia, Greece, across the Balkans, as well as Washington DC.

Latest

United Nations Oceans Conference adopts declaration to tackle the global ocean emergency

After a week of deliberation and discussion, the third...

How the arrest of a French politician carries lessons for Brussels

A French senator caught smuggling 22 kilos of tobacco...

Go West: Azerbaijan boosts energy projects that connect Caspian region with Europe

As energy demand grows fueled by AI and vehicle...

Don't miss

Washington orders sanctions responding to ICC actions targeting the United States and Israel

On June 5, the United States announced sanctions against four judges currently serving as International Criminal Court (ICC) judges for what it described as...

U.S. – Venezuela standoff continues amid growing pressure

The standoff between the U.S. and Venezuela over a number of open issues is slowly reaching the boiling point, while Secretary of State Marco...

Terrific or Terrible Tariffs with the Sorcerer’s Apprentice

There is a very good chance that most of you will have seen the Walt Disney’s animation film Fantasia, which came out in 1940,...

United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius resolve the Chagos Islands issue

The United Kingdom agreed on May 22 to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after a last-minute legal challenge was thrown out...

In search of jobs and treasure: Trump’s first overseas jaunt takes a distinctly commercial angle

U.S. President Donald Trump completed a four-day tour of the Middle East on May 13-16, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates....

Taking off: Qatar’s strategic rise in global aviation

For Qatar, an important development took place recently as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), approved the final phase of its own airspace, the...

False economy: Washington will regret closing important diplomatic posts

At this point many readers will have seen press reports indicating that a large number of American embassies and consulates are being studied for...

The Geoeconomic Repercussions of Trump’s Tariff Pause: A Balkan Perspective

On April 2, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs under the banner of “Liberation Day”—a dramatic economic maneuver that reintroduced a 10...