United States (USA) Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Greece on February 21, 2023.[1] The visit will be conducted as part of the “Strategic Dialogue” between the two countries.
As it will be recalled, “Strategic Dialogue” came to the agenda as part of the interaction between the then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Greek counterpart Giorgos Katrougalos between 2018 and 2022. Hence, it would not be wrong to state that the relations between the parties have made significant progress in the last five years.[2]
This situation is closely related to the positioning of Greece by the Washington administration as the main country in which the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is accumulating in the east. In other words, Greece has become an actor that pays special attention to the defense of NATO’s eastern borders.
On the other hand, the United States has an approach that attaches importance to supporting Athens in ensuring the security of the Mediterranean against Russia. In this sense, it is seen that the importance given to Greeks has increased even more with the Russian-Ukrainian War that started on February 24, 2022. This situation brings to the agenda the fact that the US positions Greece as a proxy actor in terms of protecting its interests in the region and turns it into a military base where it is accumulating; the Athens administration, thanks to the relations it has developed with Washington and its Western allies, and especially the arms exchange, is accelerating the military modernization process and trying to obtain a deterrent that will provide support for its claims against international law in the region. In other words, a relationship form has developed in accordance with the interests of both sides, which is shaped in line with the mutual win-win understanding in the defense and security dimension.
This relationship also facilitates the Athens administration to find support in the field of energy policies, especially in its theses contrary to international law in the Eastern Mediterranean. In other words, Greece is turning its relations with the United States into an opportunity in the context of energy geopolitics and is looking for ways to achieve maximum gains. Moreover, these gains are not limited to the support of the United States; The Washington administration’s approach also makes it easier for Athens to win the support of US allies.
At this point, it is essential to mention Alexandroupolis’s situation. It is thought that Alexandroupolis is in a sensitive position in the US-Greece relations and therefore the situation in Alexandroupolis will definitely be discussed during Blinken’s visit to Athens. Because the US has already turned Alexandroupolis into a critical military base where it is accumulating. Greece is also satisfied with the situation in terms of security policies. Moreover, Alexandroupolis stands out not only in terms of security; it also stands out in the energy dimension.
As it is known, Greece has been at the forefront of the sanctions targeting the Moscow administration since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian War and is trying to become an energy hub. Therefore, it can be said that Greece wants to be an energy base and to implement its energy projects centered in the Eastern Mediterranean, even if it is contrary to international law. Athens wants to transform Alexandroupolis into an energy hub in both initiatives, especially in terms of LNG storage facilities. In this context, it seems likely that the United States will show its support for Greece on Alexandroupolis on the occasion of Blinken’s visit. Hence, it is possible that various energy projects will be on the agenda in Blinken’s meetings with his Greek interlocutors.
The frenzy of armament in the defense-security policies of the Athens administration is not limited to this. Because Greece is far behind in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) technology compared to its competitors in the region. Currently, the US has deployed MQ-9 Reaper UAVs to Greece. It has been announced that the UAVs operating at Larissa Air Base will monitor NATO’s borders in Southeast Europe.[3]
The fact that the aforementioned statement corresponds to a period when Blinken’s visit to Greece was announced cannot be described as a coincidence. On the contrary, this development indicates that the US may deploy UAVs in various regions of Greece, including Alexandroupolis, after the Larissa Air Base. In this context, it is also possible to sign an agreement between the parties on the sale of UAVs. Therefore, it can be argued that one of the issues that will be on the agenda of Blinken’s visit will be the deployment and sale of UAVs to Greece, and even more so to take different steps to strengthen the air defense capacity of this country.
As a result, Greece is even willing to usurp the rights of its neighbors in violation of international law in order to achieve its own interests in the region. The United States, on the other hand, has the goal of limiting Russia’s Mediterranean policy. It is also understood that the United States has recently wanted to turn Greece into one of the key actors in the defense of NATO’s eastern borders. Energy is the key to taking these relations to much higher levels. For this reason, the “Strategic Dialogue” between the parties tends to expand and deepen. It is possible to argue that Blinken’s visit to Greece, which is scheduled to take place on February 21, 2023, will also serve to develop this dialogue.
[1]“Blinken to Visit Greece Feb 20-21, Report Says”, Greek City Times, https://greekcitytimes.com/2023/01/16/blinken-to-visit-greece-feb-20-21-report-says/, (Date of: 27.01.2023).
[2] “Ο ρόλος της Αλεξανδρούπολης: Θα έχει η Βόρεια Ελλάδα ξανά την τιμητική της; Κρίσιμη και σημαντική η επίσκεψη του Μπλίνκεν στην Αθήνα”, Hellas Journal, https://hellasjournal.com/2023/01/o-rolos-tis-alexandroupolis-tha-echi-i-voria-ellada-xana-tin-timitiki-tis-krisimi-ke-simantiki-i-episkepsi-tou-blinken-stin-athina/, (Date of Accession: 27.01.2023).
[3] Constantine Atlamazoglou, “As Fighting Rages in Ukraine, the US is Sending Drones to Keep an Eye on Another Tense Corner of Europe”, Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/us-mq9-drones-to-greece-amid-ukraine-war-turkey-tensions-2023-1, (Date of Accession: 27.01.2023).
