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While all eyes are on the US elections today, in Greece it seems that there is a permanent state of campaigning. After the PASOK elections a few weeks ago, SYRIZA is now preparing for its own leadership elections this month. In the meantime, internal drama in New Democracy and PASOK’s improved poll numbers have caught the media’s attention as well. Panos Koliastasis, adjunct lecturer in...

11 λεπτά

The past years have seen an exponential increase in the number of Americans who choose Greece for their vacation, and this trend is expected to continue in 2025. While Americans are arriving in Greece in droves, what do they really think about the country? That’s the focus of a recent poll that not only puts the spotlight on perceptions and impressions of Greece in the US, but also raises...

10 λεπτά

With the US elections around the corner, discussions are already underway about how a new administration will tackle the question of Turkey. As this discussion intensifies, just a few days ago we saw members of Congress call out Turkish President Erdogan’s aggressive rhetoric against NATO and key allies. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Sinan Ciddi and Endy Zemenides, the Executive...

18 λεπτά

Earlier this week Greeks around the world celebrated “OXI Day” - the day 84 years ago that saw Greece reject the ultimatums of Italy’s Mussolini. The heroics of the Greek army during World War II are well known, as they showed occupied Europe that the Axis was not invincible. Today, however, I want to focus on another side of this story, and that’s the ongoing search for the remains of Greek...

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The Greek and Turkish foreign ministers are set to meet on November 8th in Athens to explore whether there is genuine room for substantive discussions on Greek-Turkish differences, particularly issues in the Aegean Sea. In the lead up to this meeting, neither Greece nor Turkey have deviated from their core positions, something diplomats say is expected. Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s diplomatic...

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This week Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis will head to Washington, DC for an official meeting with President Joe Biden at the Oval Office. The invitation - which was reported on this weekend - comes as US-Cyprus relations continue to reach new heights. These past few months alone have put this positive trajectory in the spotlight, with Cyprus and the US signing a defense cooperation...

8 λεπτά

Just days after we saw moves that hinted a resumption of negotiations between Ankara and the PKK could be on the table, a deadly attack took place in Ankara that killed 5 people and left more than 20 wounded. Turkish authorities said the PKK stood behind the attack, and Turkey’s air force bombed Kurdish militant targets in neighboring Iraq and Syria. Ayla Jean Yackley, an Istanbul-based...

13 λεπτά

The Financial Times recently put the spotlight on a phenomenon that has been dubbed the “north Cyprus trap” that has seen tens of thousands of migrant students get lured with false promises to so-called universities in the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus. This practice is not only mired in fraud and human rights abuses, but also enables migrant smugglers who are moving many of these students...

11 λεπτά

With Israel appearing to expand its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, targeting the group's financial networks, the US is increasingly concerned that the conflict has “escalated out of control”, with top officials calling for the enforcement of a UN resolution that ended the previous major war between them in 2006. At the same time, there is renewed concern that the war is fueling Lebanon’s...

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After a one-year manhunt, Israeli forces were able to kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week. Could this pave the way for a reset in a region grappling with the aftermath of the deadly October 7th, 2023, attack Sinwar stood behind? Endy Zemenides, the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, joins Thanos Davelis to look at why the death of Sinwar is a chance to reopen...

10 λεπτά

Migration was - once again - at the heart of discussions at the latest EU leaders summit, as the issue has been taking on new dimensions across the continent. This renewed focus on migration comes after the far-right made gains in the European Parliament, in various elections in Germany and Austria, and follows the opening of Italy’s controversial offshore detention centers in Albania. Angeliki...

13 λεπτά

Earlier this month Erdogan made a wild accusation that Israel was planning to wage war on, or target, Turkey. While these absurd claims are mainly seen as an effort by the Turkish President to appease his Islamist base and distract from the country’s economic troubles, there is concern that to ignore such statements encourages further incitement. Alan Makovsky, a senior fellow for the Center...

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With the exclusion of former party head Stefanos Kasselakis from its leadership election, it looks like SYRIZA is plunging into fresh turmoil. With the party effectively leaderless and consumed by internal struggles for the coming weeks, many see this as an opportunity for PASOK - which just wrapped up its own leadership elections - to state its case to be considered the main opposition party....

11 λεπτά

Next month COP 29, the UN’s flagship climate conference, is once again going to be hosted by an authoritarian petrostate - Azerbaijan. In the build up to COP29, human rights organizations, civil society groups, and major news outlets have all shared their concerns about Azerbaijan’s human rights record - from its aggression in the Caucasus against Armenians to its crackdown on dissidents at...

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A few days ago, on October 12th, Athens celebrated 80 years since the liberation of the city from a brutal Nazi German occupation that left its mark not just on Athens, but on all of Greece. Today, we take a look back at this historic moment, but also at a question that has lingered ever since, impacting Greece’s relations with Germany: the issue of reparations and a forced loan taken from...

12 λεπτά

Last week Turkish President Erdogan set out on a tour of the Balkans, visiting Albania and Serbia. The tour kicked off in Albania, with Erdogan gifting a number of drones and inaugurating the largest mosque in the Balkans - which was funded by Turkey. The second leg took him to Serbia, where Turkey made a diplomatic comeback in 2017. Thanos Davelis caught up with expert Dimitar Bechev last week...

13 λεπτά

This week Greece - together with the European Commission - hosted the REPowerEU workshop on energy in Athens. This was a chance to put the spotlight on how Greece is at the heart of energy developments like the “Vertical Corridor”, renewables, and electricity interconnectors that are transforming the region and breaking its dependence on Russian energy. Theodoros Tsakiris, a Professor of...

18 λεπτά

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to hold talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in New York next week, the latest push to kickstart stalled talks for a solution to the Cyprus problem. The talks come as Tatar and Turkish President Erdogan have been doubling down on their calls for a two-state solution, with Erdogan even calling for...

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After a meeting at the UN between the leaders of Greece and Turkey, it appears talks to delimit the continental shelf and EEZ - the main issue on the table - could materialize. This was confirmed in a recent interview that Greece’s Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis, who will meet with his Turkish counterpart next month in Athens, gave to Kathimerini. Expert Constantinos Filis, the director...

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Sunday’s election for PASOK’s leadership was a nail-biter up until the early hours of Monday, keeping analysts up well into the night. The race for second place, which saw Athens mayor Haris Doukas narrowly defeat former minister Pavlos Yeroulanos, has set the stage for a runoff against incumbent Nikos Androulakis. Lamprini Rori, an Assistant Professor in Political Analysis at the National and...

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