Why Obama’s visit to Athens is not just about Greek debt
The visit of the outgoing US President Barack Obama to Athens is going to go down as one of the important moments in Greece’s political history.
It’s the fourth visit by an American President to Greece, and even if it’s taking place a week after Donald Trump’s election victory, it has its own special significance, since the American President through this visit is showing his support, even if it was a last minute decision.
Although the government and Greek Prime – Minister Alexis Tsipras,expected the US President to refer to the impairment of Greek debt something which did eventually happen, Washington obviously had other plans in mind.
Semantically the first mention, beyond compliments to Greece and the Greeks, was the US President’s appreciation for Greece’s firm commitment to “our alliance.” This alone shows US priorities.
NATO and energy are the key issues of concern to the US side. On one hand they seek to reduce dependence on Russian gas and to ensure the transfer of US natural gas to Greece. On the other, NATO forces in the Aegean used to facilitate the strengthening of maritime borders between Turkey and Greece will likely become permanent, so that they act as a deterrent to Russian forces in the Eastern Mediterranean.
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