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Turkish warplanes struck suspected Kurdish positions in Iraq and Syria early on Wednesday in a new aerial offensive. The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria condemned Turkey’s airstrikes and urged the international community to intervene to stop what it called “Turkish aggression.” It said the Turkish strikes came days after the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces...

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Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department on Tuesday, where the two discussed deepening the bilateral relationship, which Secretary Blinken said was “stronger than ever.” They also discussed the 3+1 mechanism with Greece and Israel, and additional bilateral and regional issues. There was no mention in the readout, however, of...

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On Tuesday Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides will meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department, putting the US-Cyprus relationship in the spotlight. Blinken and Kasoulides will focus on further deepening bilateral relations, the Cyprus problem, energy issues, the 3+1 format, as well as other issues of regional and international interest. Nikos Christodoulides,...

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The Russia-NATO crisis over Ukraine is putting Turkey’s balancing act between Moscow and the West into renewed focus. Because it is a NATO country, and because Russia has been building a strategic relationship with Ankara since 2016 to counter NATO on missile defense, Turkey’s decisions are going to be watched carefully in Moscow, Washington, and Brussels should the Ukraine-Russia crisis...

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The winter storm that swept through Greece this week and shut down Athens and other parts of the country has seen the government come under fire for its handling of this extreme weather event. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis issued an apology on Wednesday acknowledging the insufficient response of the state to the storm, which left thousands of motorists stranded in their cars, while...

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Endy Zemenides, the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, joins The Greek Current to discuss his latest piece in Kathimerini, titled “It’s not the pipeline, stupid”, which breaks down the latest controversy over the US “non-paper” on the EastMed gas pipeline. We look at the series of public relations fiascos and laughable explanations from those responsible for the...

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Last week Turkish President Erdogan said that Israeli President Herzog would soon visit Turkey. The very next day, Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu held the first ministerial level call in 13 years with Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid. This comes as Turkey has been pushing the narrative that it wants reconciliation with Israel, and after it’s taken steps to reach out to regional rivals such as...

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The EU called on Russia on Monday to defuse tensions over Ukraine and reaffirmed that Moscow would face "massive" consequences if it attacked its neighbor. The EU's foreign ministers, who met in Brussels, said the bloc "condemns Russia's continued aggressive actions and threats against Ukraine and calls on Russia to de-escalate." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also joined the meeting via...

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Late last week a US appeals court put the federal government's prosecution of Turkish state-owned lender Halkbank on hold while the bank appeals to the US Supreme Court. This decision means Halkbank can appeal without having to defend itself in a Manhattan federal court for its alleged role in helping Iran evade US sanctions. Halkank is accused of helping Iran secretly transfer $20 billion of...

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Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and his counterpart from North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski, met on Tuesday in Skopje in an effort to improve relations and reach a breakthrough on the Bulgarian policy of blocking North Macedonia’s path to EU membership. Since 2020, Bulgaria has blocked the opening of EU membership negotiation talks with North Macedonia because of disputes over history...

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The first six advanced Rafale jets, purchased from France, arrived in Greece on Wednesday marking the first major delivery to result from multi-billion euro defense deals the Greek and French governments signed last year. Prime Minister Mitsotakis welcomed the new jets, saying that they will make the Greek air force one of the strongest in Europe and the Mediterranean. Greece has earmarked...

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The US decision to shift its focus from the EastMed gas pipeline to regional electricity interconnectors is an opportunity for Greece. That’s what energy expert Nikos Tsafos argued in his latest op-ed in Kathimerini - “Beyond the EastMed Pipeline”. Nikos Tsafos joins The Greek Current to talk about this piece, in which he explores the impact the proposed pipeline has had on the region despite...

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The EastMed gas pipeline has been dominating the news cycle over the last weeks. This attention follows a non-paper declaring Washington’s skepticism about the project and a recent online video published by Turkey’s TRT World which inaccurately portrayed US policy as favoring EastMed gas going to Turkey. As a result, the State Department issued in depth statements clarifying its positions on...

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Increased US-Greek cooperation at the port of Alexandroupoli has highlighted its geostrategic significance for the transatlantic alliance, becoming a key element in shaping the bilateral relationship. As the port sees increased activity, many locals believe that increasing operations at the port and railroad will eventually benefit the rest of Evros as well, bringing new businesses and...

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In 2021 we saw Turkey slowly work to reduce tensions with a number of its regional rivals, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. While Turkey seems eager to move from active confrontation toward greater stability, its rivals have not all embraced rapprochement with the same zeal as Ankara. The question now remains how far regional dynamics will shift given that many...

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EU auditors released a report on Monday that pointed out how the EU has been unsuccessful in its efforts to promote rule-of-law reforms in the Western Balkans. The bloc has spent about €700 million between 2014 and 2020 to help Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo make progress on reforms, and many EU governments see establishing high democratic standards...

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Klaus Regling, the Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), recently gave an exclusive interview to Kathimerini where he discussed the economic prospects for Greece and Europe in 2022. Regling touched on the strength of the recovery of the Greek economy in 2021 and the road ahead, citing the importance of Greece’s Recovery and Resilience Plan as a tool to place Greece on a...

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Following reports of US reservations over the feasibility of the EastMed gas pipeline project, a State Department spokesman affirmed Washington’s commitment to the 3+1 regional alliance with Greece, Cyprus and Israel and emphasized that Europe’s energy independence is a key national security issue. Endy Zemenides, HALC’s executive director, joins The Greek Current to discuss this latest...

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This week has seen tensions escalate between Turkey and Greece as leading politicians and officials in Ankara have made provocative statements and issued warnings directed at Greece. Athens has issued a stern response, while Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias called on Turkey to prove its commitment to international law through actions, starting with withdrawing its threat of war against Greece....

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The Russian Orthodox Church said this week that it was considering establishing an exarchate in Turkey, as it has just done in Africa, further deepening the schism between the Moscow and the Ecumenical Patriarchate that opened up following the decision by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to grant the Ukrainian Orthodox Church autocephaly, essentially making it independent of Russia. Professor...

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