A “new beginning?”
Q&A
Tassos Symeonides
(RIEAS Academic Advisor)
Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 3 March 2019
Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).
Last December we witnessed the inaugural US-Greece strategic dialogue meeting in Washington between Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and then Greek Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs George Katrougalos. Is this truly a new beginning?
Greek-American relations are full of “new beginnings.” Diplomatic language, irrespective of the point in time, tends to stress the positive for obvious reasons. What lies behind such statements, however, is an altogether different matter. Perceptions from Athens and Washington vary: Greece, for instance, as the vastly weaker partner, seeks an American “umbrella” against the perennial Turkish threat; the US, on the other hand, focuses on a complex global and regional security scheme in which Greece is one of many pivots, an important one perhaps but, still, one of many...Read more