Contacts of the US Foreign Minister will be held in a strictly bilateral context Anthony Blinkenwho will visit her Athena February 21st.

Despite the initial recommendations of the Athenian side for a repetition at the ministerial level 3+1 Scheme (Greece, Republic of Cyprus, Israel and USA)the American side chose to limit the agenda to the framework of the strategic dialogue (4th round) and the associated discussion on mainstreaming Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA). The 3+1 scheme, although it exists, has been limited at the technocratic level for some time. The last meeting was devoted to cybersecurity issues.

Politically, it is absolutely clear that Washington’s priority at this time is to maintain excellent relations with Athens at a high level, but at the same time, US attention is also directed to Turkey, where a very tough election campaign is going on in the country. who is the current chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to exploit the widespread anti-Americanism that flourishes in the electorate of the neighboring country.

Since Mr. Blinken will visit not only Athena but also her Anchorand indeed, at a time when Erdoğan and his government officials are accusing Washington of “violating” its position of neutrality between Greece and Turkey, it was considered important to govern as equidistantly as possible.

Until three weeks have passed Turkish F-16s This does not bode well for Ankara, and there are many more rounds in the tough diplomatic poker between the administration of US President Joe Biden and Mr. Erdogan, which, of course, includes Greece.

The contacts of Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken, who will visit Greece on February 21, will take place in a strictly bilateral context.

The Menendez case

Ankara is already accusing Greece of Bob Menendez “blocks” the sale of F-16s to Turkey, despite the fact that government officials from the State Department and the Pentagon have called on Ankara to consider the role that Congress plays in the US system.

Instead, as we have seen, Ankara, through the representative of the Turkish President, Ibrahim Kalinwent so far as to link the sale of the F-16 to Turkey with the release F-35 for Greece.

Given that a response from the American side (Letter of Offer and Acceptance) to the F-35 is expected in Athens, it is quite clear that the issue will also be raised in the course of Mr. Blinken’s contacts, as well as all Greek-American relations in the field of defense. The MDCA discussion includes the use by the US military of important bases, many of which have already upgraded their infrastructure (Larisa, Souda), such as Alexandroupolis, which during the war in Ukraine became a supply artery for NATO’s eastern bases. wing, which proved to be reliable and sufficient.