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The Greek Current
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The Greek Current

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A podcast on Greece, Cyprus and the region brought to you by The Hellenic American Leadership Council and Kathimerini. Hosted by Thanos Davelis.

επεισόδια 1411
διάρκεια 359 ώρες
συχνότητα εβδομαδιαία
επεισόδιο πριν
ηλικία
προσθήκη πριν

The Ecumenical Patriarch's visit to the US and tensions with the Russian Church

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew wrapped up an almost two week visit to the United States late last week. His trip included meetings with President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and key members of Congress. Religious freedom in Turkey and the reopening of the Halki Theological Seminary featured heavily in discussions with US political leaders, but the trip also highlighted the important...

North Macedonia faces political uncertainty following local elections and PM Zaev's resignation

North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced earlier this week that he would resign after his party suffered an overwhelming defeat during recent municipal elections to the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE, the main opposition party. Following the election, Zaev insisted that the coalition could agree on another candidate for prime minister and form a government, rejecting calls from the...

Greece introduces new measures amid a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases

Authorities in Greece reported 6,808 new coronavirus cases on Thursday as the country experiences a sharp upturn in its daily infection rate, breaking record after record: 4,696 on Saturday, 5,449 on Monday and more than 6,700 on Tuesday. The situation in hospitals is also worrying, with data showing that beds are filling faster with new Covid-19 patients than there are discharges, and that the...

North Macedonia's recent elections and the message from Greece

Zoran Zaev announced his resignation as North Macedonia’s prime minister and leader of the ruling Social Democratic party after a landslide defeat in local elections late on Sunday. The move raises important questions about what lies ahead for North Macedonian politics, with the nationalist opposition, which is opposed to the Prespes agreement with Greece, calling for early elections. Tom...

Rebroadcast: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's legacy on the global stage and within Greece

Greece’s often-strained relations in past years with Germany took center stage Friday during a visit to Athens by outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel. During their meeting, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou raised the thorny issue of Germany's role in Greece's financial crisis, noting that “there were times of difficulty and tension,” adding that Greeks “often felt alone.” Many Greeks...

US sanctions, Hezbollah's power play in Lebanon, and offers to rebuild the port of Beirut

The US Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on two top Lebanese contractors and a lawmaker close to Hezbollah over alleged large-scale corruption that undermined the rule of law in Lebanon. This decision comes amid an unprecedented economic crisis in Lebanon. It also comes as Hezbollah attempts to expand its influence over Lebanon, seeking control over the powerful Finance and...

Global terror finance watchdog places Turkey on "grey list"

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based global money laundering and terror financing watchdog, added Turkey to its “grey list” last week, placing it under increased monitoring. This is not the first time Turkey was placed on the “grey list”, and in 2019 the FATF warned that unless Ankara improves its “serious shortcomings,” Turkey risked being added to the grey list once again....

Greece looking to work with Middle East countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia to deliver energy to Europe

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held two days of meetings in Saudi Arabia, where the focus was on bilateral relations and energy developments in the region. During his visit, Mitsotakis made the case that Greece can be an entry point into the European power market for energy produced in the Middle East. The visit came weeks after Greece and Egypt signed a deal to build an...

The port of Piraeus deal and concerns about Chinese investments in Greece

This month the Piraeus Port Authority handed a further 16 percent of its shares to Cosco, cementing its control by the Chinese state-backed shipping group, which bought 51 percent of the Greek port in August 2016 during the financial crisis. The deal has intensified unease in the EU over China’s increasing involvement in European infrastructure and met a wall of opposition over environmental...

EU summit attempts to tackle soaring energy prices, rule of law crisis with Poland, migration, and more

EU leaders were in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for a European Council summit, with soaring energy prices and a rule-of-law dispute with Poland at the top of the agenda. Other topics on the agenda included discussions over migration, with the EU condemning the use of migration as a pressure tool, resurgent EU coronavirus hot spots, and vaccine donations. The summit also saw German Chancellor...

The Ecumenical Patriarch's meeting with President Biden and the opportunities it presents

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is set to visit the United States between October 23 and November 3, where he will hold a number of important meetings, including a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House. In a recent piece for the Middle East Institute, expert Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir argued that this in-person meeting provides the Biden administration a unique opportunity not only...

US-Greece relations and the strategic dialogue: A conversation with Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt

“Relations between Greece and the United States are at a peak, but they are not at the summit.” That was the message US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt conveyed to journalists after Greece and the US signed an updated MDCA last week and held their third Strategic Dialogue. Ambassador Pyatt joins The Greek Current to look at the recent US-Greece strategic dialogue and the signing of the...

Taking US-Greece relations to the next level: A discussion with Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou

Last week Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed the new Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement between Greece and the United States and held the third round of talks as part of the strategic dialogue between both countries. Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou, Greece’s ambassador to the United States, joins The Greek Current to discuss how this...

Renewal of Greece-US defense agreement to advance security and stability in the East Med

The United States and Greece signed an extension of the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) on Thursday, renewing their agreement for five years with an understanding that from then onward, it would remain in place indefinitely. The MDCA will boost defense cooperation between the two countries, including further investment in bases operated by the US military in Greece. Greek Foreign...

Is it time for the US to support the EU's defense ambitions?

Last week US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that President Biden was truly willing to support greater European military and defense capabilities, a key point in the joint statement with Macron aimed at smoothing over the AUKUS dispute. But Sullivan said it was crucial to deal in specifics. This statement, the AUKUS deal, and the recent defense agreement between France and Greece...

Greece's foreign policy agenda: The MDCA, Libya, and the Western Balkans

Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s diplomatic and defense editor, joins our podcast today to discuss his latest report that highlights Greece’s key foreign policy goals in the near future. We kick off by discussing Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias’ trip to Washington, DC, where he is expected to sign the updated Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement on Thursday and engage in the strategic dialogue...

Why it is time to check the power Turkey seeks to exert on the global stage

Is it time to check the power Turkey seeks to exert on the global stage? Expert Michael Rubin makes the case that it is in his latest piece for The National Interest - “The West Shouldn’t Deny the Big Picture on Turkey’s Erdogan”. Michael Rubin joins The Greek Current to discuss Turkish President Erdogan’s ambitions on the global stage and the methods he uses to achieve these goals, one of...