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Today we turn to the Aegean Sea, where Turkey has upped the ante with a series of violations of Greece’s airspace and illegal overflights with fighter jets over Greek islands - some of them inhabited - since the beginning of the week. These provocations come as the leadership in Ankara is looking to convince the US to sell Turkey upgraded F-16 fighters. Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s diplomatic...

9 λεπτά

The French presidential election is heating up with the first round this past Sunday setting up a showdown in two weeks between French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen. Yannis Palaiologos, Kathimerini’s Brussels correspondent, joins our host Thanos Davelis with the latest analysis on France’s presidential elections, which NATO members, the EU, and the broader...

12 λεπτά

Today we are looking at Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump waded into the state’s Senate Republican primary, throwing his support behind Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Turkish-American TV physician. Georgia Logothetis, HALC’s Managing Director, joins our host Thanos Davelis to break down why this endorsement has infuriated some of Trump’s most fervent supporters, and look at why Oz’s close...

10 λεπτά

HALCs Executive Director Endy Zemenides joins our host Thanos Davelis to discuss Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland’s trip to Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, which unfortunately was marked by a major gaffe Nuland make while in Cyprus - where she referred to the Turkish Cypriot leader as “president”. We break down why this demonstrates the need for Biden administration officials to get the...

11 λεπτά

A new letter to Congress from the State Department has caused an uproar as it suggests that the potential sale of F-16s to Turkey would be in line with US and NATO interests. The letter was a response to more than 50 members of Congress who urged the Biden administration to reject Ankara's request, citing Turkish President Erdogan's lack of commitment to NATO and his "vast human rights abuses."...

8 λεπτά

Does Russia’s war in Ukraine present an opportunity for President Erdogan to end his country’s isolation and advance the idea that Turkey is a global leader, and is this more about luck rather than shrewd diplomacy? Steven Cook, an expert on Turkish politics and the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins our host Thanos...

9 λεπτά

Ukraine is home to a sizable Greek ethnic minority, and this is one of the reasons why Greece has adopted a forward-leaning diplomatic presence in the country. This is often brought up in reports, but without any historical context. Alexander Kitroeff, a Professor of History at Haverford College who has written extensively on the Greek diaspora, joins our host Thanos Davelis to talk about this...

13 λεπτά

Following the historic recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Congress and President Biden, we’re now seeing the House take this a step further with the introduction of the Armenian Genocide Education Act. Aram Hamparian, the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America, joins our host Thanos Davelis to discuss this landmark bill, and more. You can read the articles we...

13 λεπτά

Tom Ellis, the editor in chief of Kathimerini English Edition, joins our host Thanos Davelis to discuss his latest piece for Kathimerini, which highlights the parallels between Turkey’s invasion and continued occupation of Cyprus over 47 years ago and Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.Read Tom Ellis’s latest piece in Kathimerini: Remember Cyprus?You can read the articles we discuss on our...

10 λεπτά

Today we take you to the halls of Congress, where the House Foreign Affairs Committee had a hearing on the Eastern Mediterranean. Endy Zemenides, the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, joins our host Thanos Davelis with the main takeaways. Watch the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the Eastern Mediterranean here: Opportunities & Challenges in Eastern...

9 λεπτά

Western sanctions punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine are reorganizing global trade routes along political lines, defying geography and efficiency. This new reality is creating a windfall for merchant shipping, but it risks creating higher prices for European consumers and hunger for Africa, with the UN recently warning of “famine, destabilization and mass migration” unless action is...

19 λεπτά

Over the last couple of years Greece has taken significant steps to upgrade its armed forces, particularly its navy. This isn’t a phenomenon limited only to Greece however, and we see it across the region, including in Turkey, Israel, and Egypt. Energy discoveries and the territorialization of maritime zones are some of the main reasons these countries have embarked on a multi-billion dollar...

17 λεπτά

Turkish weaponry, primarily its drones, have made headlines as Ukraine has reportedly used them quite effectively against Russian troops. Turkish weapons have also shaped the outcomes of several recent clashes in the Middle East and beyond. This is a result of Turkey’s efforts to develop an indigenous defense industry, a key goal of President Erdogan. Expert Aykan Erdemir joins our host Thanos...

17 λεπτά

Three major summits - among the EU leaders, NATO, and the G7 - took place in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, where the primary aim was to show Western unity against Russia's war in Ukraine. President Joe Biden also traveled to Brussels, and stressed that "the single most important thing is for us to stay unified.” A central topic of discussion for EU leaders was on additional sanctions...

12 λεπτά

The arrival of two superyachts belonging to the sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in Turkey this week comes amid international efforts to freeze assets belonging to Russian billionaires with links to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, and is raising concerns in the West that Turkey could become a haven for Russian oligarchs looking to avoid sanctions. So far, Turkey has not joined in...

16 λεπτά

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that Greece would send arms to Kyiv. While these arms are hardly enough to change the balance of the war, they have signaled a new doctrine in Greece’s foreign policy, one that upends the country’s long-standing aversion to getting involved in foreign conflicts. Prime Minister Mitsotakis made the case that this...

13 λεπτά

Europe faces unprecedented challenges in the wake of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with the continent’s reliance on Russian energy in the spotlight. As a result, the EU is on a mission to cut Russian gas use and find alternative sources of energy to meet its needs. This is inevitably turning attention back to the Eastern Mediterranean and the EastMed Gas Pipeline, despite the US non-paper...

17 λεπτά

A few months ago the State Department pulled its support for the EastMed gas pipeline that would bring Israeli and Cypriot gas to Europe via a pipeline from Cyprus to Greece - a move that had broad diplomatic support in the region. In a recent op-ed in The National Interest, Michael Rubin argues that this decision by the Biden administration neither furthers national security nor combats...

15 λεπτά

An op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday made the case that the US should help Turkey transfer its Russian S400s to Ukraine as a way to help Ukraine and resolve tensions with the US. It also suggested that in return for sending its S-400s to Ukraine, the US should offer Turkey a replacement for the S400s and get Ankara back in the F-35 program. The op-ed has drawn sharp criticism from...

16 λεπτά

Instead of strongly condemning Russian President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian Patriarch Kirill has given his full-throated support to the Kremlin. This support stems from an ideology supported by both Putin and Kirill known as "Russian World", which links faith with Russia’s nationalist aims. This support has resulted in a splintering within the Orthodox world, and is in clear contrast...

18 λεπτά