podlist.gr

After several years of virtually nonexistent relations, Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis spoke on the phone Wednesday with Najla Mangoush - the interim foreign minister of the government of national unity in Tripoli. According to diplomatic sources, Gerapetritis stressed the need to relaunch relations between Athens and Tripoli and to open direct channels of communication. Athens’...

11 λεπτά

This year marks the centenary of the Lausanne Treaty, a treaty that has survived a number of twists and turns in world history. While it continues to largely define the status quo between Greece and Turkey, the spirit of the treaty has also been interpreted differently in both countries, with Greeks seeing the treaty as a painful, but necessary basis for peace, while for Turks the spirit of...

10 λεπτά

Congressman Pete Sessions recently visited the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus, becoming the first American politician to fly directly into the unrecognized Turkish proxy state - against State Department advice - on a junket sponsored by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce. The visit was condemned by the Republic of Cyprus as well, which denounced it as a violation of international law and...

10 λεπτά

It’s now been almost a year and a half since Russia invaded Ukraine, and the impact of Putin’s war can be felt from the geopolitical landscape to the global economy. A point of particular concern has been energy, as Europe has had to find ways to cut its reliance on Russian gas and oil. Georgia Nakou, a features editor at MacroPolis, a specialist website focused on political and economic...

13 λεπτά

It’s been a busy month in Washington, and Hellenic issues weren’t left out of the legislative agenda as Congresswoman Grace Meng and the Hellenic Caucus introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that once again puts the US-Greece relationship in the spotlight. A part of the amendment that has gotten a lot of media attention - with some headlines misquoting the bill -...

10 λεπτά

Following a decade-plus of fractured relations with key Western partners, including the US, Turkey’s President Erdogan has made some moves to seemingly rebuild these relationships. His decision on Sweden’s NATO membership at the summit in Vilnius and the toning down of his aggressive posturing in the Aegean against Greece are but a few examples. Despite this, many in NATO, as well as officials...

14 λεπτά

A new movement is underway in Greece, and is taking place on its beaches in the middle of the tourist season. Citizens on a number of popular islands have been mobilizing to reclaim their beaches from private businesses, a number of which have illegally covered the seafront with umbrellas and sunbeds. These demonstrations are already starting to have an impact, with the so-called “beach towel...

12 λεπτά

This week Albanian authorities finally moved to refer Fredi Beleri’s case to trial. The ethnic Greek elected mayor of Himare has been in pre-trial detention for months, and as a result has been unable to take the oath of office. His case has now become central to Greek-Albanian relations, with implications for other issues in the relationship - from efforts to resolve maritime disputes at the...

13 λεπτά

On March 11, 2023, the night before municipal elections in Albania, the then candidate for mayor of Himare, the ethnic Greek Fredi Beleri, and his aide, Pantelis Kokavesis, were arrested by the police for allegedly attempting to buy votes. Months later, and while he has already been elected mayor, Beleri remains in pre-trial detention. Greece has monitored this case closely, stressing to...

8 λεπτά

Climate change is exacerbating weather extremes, making heat waves more frequent and more severe worldwide, and this summer has been the hottest on record. Heat waves are also causing yet another devastating wildfire season, and with data showing that the Eastern Mediterranean is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, this is a particularly acute problem for countries like Greece....

17 λεπτά

It’s now been a couple of weeks since the NATO summit in Vilnius, where Turkey’s Erdogan was praised by other leaders - including President Biden - for lifting his objections to Sweden’s NATO membership bid. Once again, F-16 sales to Turkey were a top-of-the-agenda item ahead of Vilnius. Since the summit, while there have been countless headlines declaring “deals” and discussing details of...

11 λεπτά

Earlier this week Greece celebrated 49 years since the restoration of democracy after seven years of military dictatorship. With the return of democracy, Greece began a new period of stability, one anchored in the West. This was evident a few years later when Greece joined the European Union. Since then, Greece has proven its democratic resilience time and again, especially in the midst of the...

10 λεπτά

Following the meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Erdogan at the NATO summit, we’ve heard Mitsotakis talk of a new “bold agenda” in Greek-Turkish relations. As the Greek prime minister laid out, this agenda could include going to the International Court of Justice at the Hague to resolve the key disputes in the Aegean. Expert Constantinos Filis, the...

13 λεπτά

As Greece faces a prolonged heatwave and battles wildfires across the country, the realities of rising temperatures and climate change have long been evident and are impacting every aspect of life. Steven Tagle joins Thanos Davelis to look at how climate change is impacting local communities in Greece, specifically the mastic producers on the Aegean island of Chios, who have been battered by...

11 λεπτά

Wildfires have continued to rage across Greece, with Prime Minister Mitsotakis saying on Monday that the country is “fighting a war” against the fires. Greece’s fire service capabilities have been stretched as new fires emerge amid a sweltering heatwave. In Rhodes, where a wildfire has cut across the island, the government and locals have mounted the largest ever island evacuation to move close...

10 λεπτά

This month Turkey’s President Erdogan finally ended his opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership bid after months of brinkmanship and threats, while this week saw him travel to the oil-rich Gulf in a bid to attract investment and bolster his country’s ailing economy. Prof. Henri Barkey, the Cohen Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University and Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle East...

14 λεπτά

Firefighting aircraft and ground crews from other countries headed to Greece on Thursday to help battle wildfires that have intensified as southern Europe faces a prolonged heat wave. While firefighters have contained some of the wildfires near Athens, officials are on alert, warning that “the worst is yet to come,” as Southern Europe’s second heat wave in as many weeks brings extreme...

10 λεπτά

July 20th marks another black anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974. 49 years later, the northern part of Cyprus remains illegally occupied. President Christodoulides recently expressed cautious optimism about efforts to resume talks, however, and Turkey’s desire to re-engage with the EU - as President Erdogan suggested at the NATO summit - puts the focus back on Cyprus. Endy...

13 λεπτά

On Monday Russia pulled out of an agreement that had allowed Ukraine to export its grain by sea despite a wartime blockade, a deal seen as essential to keeping food flowing from Ukraine — a major breadbasket — to the wider world. Expert Max Bergmann joins Thanos Davelis to break down why Russia has decided to terminate this agreement, what’s at stake if the deal isn’t renewed, and whether...

15 λεπτά

Last week, a day after meeting with Turkish President Erdogan at the NATO summit, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the promotion of a “bold agenda” in Greek-Turkish relations with the ultimate aim of bringing the issue of the delimitation of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s...

11 λεπτά