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During an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece would be prepared for tourism this summer amid the COVID-19 pandemic. His statement coincided with an announcement from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who officially unveiled the EU’s plan for a vaccine certificate. Meanwhile, Greece issued its first 30-year government bond...

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In the latest crackdown on Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition party, the HDP, Turkish authorities on Wednesday stripped Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a prominent HDP legislator and human rights advocate, of his parliamentary seat. Meanwhile, a prosecutor filed a case with Turkey’s highest court, seeking the HDP’s disbandment. The HDP has come under intensified pressure recently, with the far-right...

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Greece and Turkey began another round of exploratory talks in Athens on Tuesday, seeking common ground on a long-standing maritime boundaries dispute. Leading up to today’s talks, Turkey slammed Greece, Cyprus, and Israel over the Euro-Asia interconnector, and has also been attempting to undermine Greece’s relations with Egypt and Israel. The exploratory talks in Athens also took place as EU...

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On Sunday the AP ran a story highlighting the continued silent treatment the Biden administration is giving to Turkey’s President Erdogan. This story rounds out what has been a tough week for Turkey in Washington, where it got a lot of pushback from both Congress and the administration. This included a Senate push for the administration to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, the State...

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In what has been described as a move that signals a shift in US-Turkish relations, the Justice Department and the State Department sent a strongly worded amicus brief asking a federal appeals court to uphold a ruling that Turkey can be held liable for assaulting protesters in Washington, DC on the day Turkish President Erdogan met with former President Trump nearly four years ago. The brief...

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Michael Rubin makes the case that it’s time to reconsider the decades-long diplomatic approach to solving the Cyprus problem, especially given Turkey’s recent maximalist calls for a two-state solution on the island. Rubin argues that rather than empowering Turkish President Erdogan and Turkey’s puppet government in the occupied northern part of the island, the US, the EU, and moderate Arab...

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Aram Hamparian and Steve Oshana join the Greek Current to talk about a range of issues, from Senator Menendez’s latest push to pressure President Biden to finally officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, to Pope Francis’s recent trip to Iraq and the plight of the regions Christians and minorities. We also analyze what steps the Biden Administration should take to safeguard human rights and...

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This week Israel, Cyprus, and Greece agreed to speed up technical work on the Euro-Asia interconnector, the world’s longest and deepest underwater power cable that will traverse the Mediterranean. This $900 million project has been described as a “cornerstone” of the countries’ efforts to transition to a green economy, while at the same time enhancing energy security and allowing the three...

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According to a recent Kathimerini report, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias raised the issue of Turkey’s nuclear ambitions during a call last month with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Dendias highlighted a nuclear energy plant Turkey is building on its southern coast, the potential risks it poses to other countries in the region, Ankara’s unwillingness to share details about the project,...

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The list of divergences between Ankara and European capitals at the moment is long, from human rights to the Eastern Mediterranean. It's against this background that EU leaders will meet to examine the bloc’s relations with Turkey at a summit on March 25-26. Ambassador Marc Pierini - the author of the recent piece “The Price of a Positive EU-Turkey Agenda” - joins The Greek Current to look at...

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Earlier this week, 170 members of the House of Representatives, signed a bipartisan letter urging President Biden to address “troubling” human rights issues as it creates its Turkey policy. The letter is the latest step Congress has taken to ensure the administration confronts Turkey’s President Erdogan over Ankara’s democratic backsliding and hostile behavior. In the meantime, it appears that...

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An informal summit on Cyprus hosted by the UN Secretary General is scheduled to take place in Geneva in late April, with the officially stated goal being “to determine whether common ground exists for the parties to negotiate a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem.” Leading up to these talks, Turkey has stated it will only discuss a two-state solution when it comes to Cyprus. This is a...

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This week the EU announced a proposal for a vaccine certificate called a Digital Green Pass that will let people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus travel more freely. This has been a key priority for Greece, which relies on tourism for a fifth of its economic output and is keen to revive travel before the summer season. Alex Patelis, the chief economic adviser to the Prime...

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Greece stands at the threshold of a strategic shift that could see it become Europe’s geopolitical gatekeeper of the emerging East Africa-to-Europe and Middle East-to-Europe commercial corridors. That’s the argument that Professor Michael Tanchum makes in his latest policy paper for ELIAMEP, the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy. Professor Tanchum joins The Greek Current to...

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The Ecumenical Patriarchate is currently being squeezed by Turkey and Russia, both of which see the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians as an extension of Western influence that threatens their respective political ambitions. Dr. Aykan Erdemir and John Lechner join the Greek Current to talk about Russia’s campaign of disinformation against Patriarch Bartholomew, why Turkey’s...

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Earlier this year Greek Olympic gold medalist Sofia Bekatorou came forward and testified that she was sexually assaulted as a 21-year-old in 1998 by a sports official. Since then, the #MeToo movement sweeping through Greece has seen a wave of victims come forward and tell their story. Meanwhile, recent allegations against the National Theatre director have also resulted in an unfolding...

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The HDP, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, is facing renewed pressure in Turkey amid rising calls for its closure by nationalist politicians in Ankara. HDP members are being increasingly targeted after the deaths of 13 Turkish hostages in Iraqi Kurdistan earlier this month following a botched rescue operation. Merve Tahiroglu, the Turkey Program Coordinator at the Project on Middle...

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Turkish President Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics for nearly two decades, consolidating power and seeking to become a second Ataturk. While Erdogan may see himself as larger than life, expert Michael Rubin draws on historical precedents to make the case in his piece “Where Will Erdoğan be Buried?” that the true measure of how Turks view him will become apparent only after his death....

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The Hellenic Navy is currently evaluating proposals for the supply of new frigates by France, the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy. This is part of Greece’s latest effort to upgrade and modernize its armed forces and its navy amid tensions with Turkey. Greece is also deepening its strategic and defense cooperation with Israel, while Foreign Minister...

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Greece's Anna Diamantopoulou is one of four candidates left in the race to become the next head of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). If her candidacy is successful, then she would be the first woman to lead the OECD, one of the world’s most influential multilateral organizations. Anna Diamantopoulou joins The Greek Current to discuss the importance of the OECD...

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