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Greece’s economic performance was in the spotlight again this week as Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe was in Athens to meet with Prime Minister Mitsotakis and to participate in the “Resilience, Progress, Perspective” conference on the Greek economy. The Eurogroup President highlighted Greece’s economic progress pointing out that its growth is above the euro area average while inflation is...

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Finland became NATO’s 31st member on Tuesday, marking a major shift in Europe’s security landscape and a setback for Russia's Vladimir Putin. Until late last week, Turkey had maintained a block on Finland’s membership bid, and is still keeping Sweden - which is also seeking NATO membership - in limbo. Expert Max Bergmann joins Thanos Davelis to explain why this moment is significant for NATO,...

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Erdogan has been on a charm offensive, working to “reset” ties with countries in the region - ties he effectively torpedoed over the last decade or so. While Erdogan wants a “reset” and “rapprochement” with countries like Egypt, Israel, the US, and even Syria, to end Turkey’s regional isolation, there will be a price to pay. The question is whether Erdogan - or the opposition should it win the...

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With a relative calm taking hold in the Aegean between Greece and Turkey, Athens is turning its focus to the Western Balkans. Here Greece is looking to play an active role in resolving disputes in the region, such as between Serbia and Kosovo, and facilitating the full integration of the Western Balkans into both the EU and NATO. Greece’s relations with Albania also fall under this agenda. As...

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Greek authorities foiled an Iranian-backed terrorist attack on Jews and Israelis in Athens earlier this week with Mossad’s assistance, which helped identify the connection between the local terror cell in Greece and Iran’s broader global terror operations. Jonathan Schanzer, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Senior Vice President for Research with an expertise on terror financing and...

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Greece is officially heading to elections on May 21st. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the much anticipated announcement on Tuesday, officially kicking off the campaign season. Mitsotakis has called on Greeks to compare his administration with the previous Syriza government in terms of its handling of the economy, foreign policy, and Greece’s image abroad. Opinion polls show his party,...

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Since the tragic earthquakes in Turkey it appears that a sense of calm is prevailing in the Aegean - at least for the moment - that has led to an improvement in ties between Greece and Turkey and a decrease in threats and provocations from Ankara. This is raising the question in diplomatic circles over the possibility that this moratorium on tensions could lead to substantive dialogue following...

12 λεπτά

It’s now been a few weeks since China brokered an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to normalize relations. The deal - and China’s role in it - shocked many countries in the region, including the US, and is already having a ripple effect across the Middle East. Dr. Theodoros Tsakiris, an associate professor of geopolitics and energy policy at the University of Nicosia, joins Thanos...

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We’re heading to the US Congress on today’s episode, where Senator Menendez once again caught everyone’s attention while questioning Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week when he sharply criticized Turkey. Representative David Cicilline also had a noteworthy exchange with Secretary Blinken in the House, asking what steps the Biden Administration is taking to ensure that US weapons are not...

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Nikos Christodoulides attended his first EU leaders summit as President of Cyprus this week, and came with a clear agenda - to engage the EU on the Cyprus issue. At the same time, Christodoulides also stressed that Cyprus is not just the Cyprus problem, but a part of the solution to the key challenges facing Europe and the region, whether it’s on energy or sanctions against Russia. Efi...

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Greece is putting forward a plan to overhaul the EU’s electricity grids in order to lay the foundations for a massive rollout of renewable power. Athens is arguing that efforts to expand and strengthen Europe’s electricity grid need to be stepped up in order to handle the transition to solar and wind, especially with the EU looking to reach climate neutrality by the middle of the century. As...

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After 12 hours of talks in North Macedonia this weekend, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that Kosovo and Serbia had reached an agreement to implement an EU-backed deal to normalize relations. This has been welcomed by many as an important and historic agreement as flare-ups between the two have fed worries about a return to conflict. The two sides, however, stopped short...

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Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was in Cairo on Saturday for the first time since ties were ruptured a decade ago to push to restore full diplomatic relations between the two countries. The move comes despite lingering tensions over Turkey’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood, its presence in Libya, and its provocative stance in the Eastern Mediterranean - three issues Cairo...

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Turkey’s President Erdogan signed off on Finland’s NATO membership on Friday — removing the biggest obstacle to the Nordic country joining the alliance. With a difficult election coming in May, however, Turkey’s president keeps insisting that Sweden is harboring alleged Kurdish terrorists and other dissidents. So far, Sweden’s efforts to placate Turkey, including with the introduction of a new...

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News of the rapprochement between long-time regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran sent shockwaves through the Middle East. The fact that China brokered the deal also took many in Washington by surprise, as it adds to worries over how US partners are responding to growing competition between the US and China. Steven Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at...

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Earlier this week Nikos Christodoulides made his first official visit to Athens as the newly elected President of Cyprus, unveiling steps to significantly strengthen the cooperation between Cyprus and Greece, something Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said was “more necessary than ever” as Christodoulides takes office “in the midst of great geopolitical volatility”. At the same time, it was...

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With the US focus on Russia and China, regions like the Eastern Mediterranean appear to be on the backburner in Washington, DC. This is raising questions about Washington’s overall strategy for the region, which has grown increasingly important over the last years. Constantinos Filis, the director of the Institute of Global Affairs and associate professor at the American College of Greece,...

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Alexis Papahelas penned a powerful opinion piece in the wake of the tragic train crash - “The Sisyphean task of transforming Greece” - in which he argues that Greece is changing, but important areas are being left behind. He compares the Greek leaders looking to make important changes to the mythical figure Sisyphus, who was condemned to an uphill battle without ever reaching the summit. Endy...

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Turkey’s President Erdogan has finally made it official, setting May 14 as the date for elections that many see as existential for Turkey’s authoritarian leader. After twenty years of dominating Turkish politics, and given the stakes for Erdogan, there are questions as to how far he will be willing to go on May 14th to ensure the results are in his favor, and whether there will be a peaceful...

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Some Biden administration officials, notably Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East, and Amos Hochstein, special presidential coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security, have been passing through Iraqi Kurdistan, encouraging Iraqi Kurds to sell oil to Turkey while arguing this will bolster US efforts to isolate Russia and Iran. Expert Michael Rubin, a senior...

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