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Sunday, September 20, 2020, 00:02
When Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Donald Trump were talking on the phone at the end of August, the information published by liberal.gr on the subject of the Turkish provocation was completely crossed: the specific measure of the White House would continue.
Some twenty days ago, no one knew how the United States government would choose to advance its firm position on strengthening stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. Almost a month after publication, specific information comes to light regarding the intense interest from the US side.
As is known, the US Secretary of State plans to visit Greece, probably in combination with other “obligations” that Pompeo will have in the region in general and that have not been made public, but seem to be related to efforts to normalize the Israel’s relations with the Arab countries. Although the United States Department of State does not confirm it, the truth is that the necessary diplomatic action is in full swing. Based on the most likely scenario, Pompeo will not land in Athens but in Souda, Crete, at the US base on September 27 or 28.
But there is one small but crucial detail to all of this: Based on the data so far, Pompeo will not visit Turkey on this trip. That is, it will not be a visit to both countries, where it could be interpreted as a mediation maneuver, but on the contrary, the United States Secretary of State will only reach Greece, something from which obviously everyone can draw their own conclusions. . Mike Pompeo will meet, according to the information, with Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Chania, at a critical moment since the extraordinary session of the European Union has just been preceded.
A meeting in which Athens and Nicosia seek the adoption by the European partners of the sanctions list, which can be implemented at any time.
However, until we get there, the start of exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey will have been officially announced. This is expected to happen perhaps at the beginning of the week. In this regard, there was a tripartite conference call of Mitsotakis diplomatic adviser Eleni Sourani with his Turkish counterpart Ibrahim Kalin and German Chancellor Jan Hecker’s diplomatic adviser on Friday.
This development should not surprise us. Already since the non-renewal of the Turkish NAVTEX and the withdrawal of Oruc Reis from the Greek continental shelf last Saturday, Mr. Mitsotakis was clear: “The challenges stop, the talks begin” was the message that the Prime Minister keeps repeating.
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