Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis started his visit to the United States of America (USA) on May 16, 2022. On May 17, he became the first Greek Prime Minister to speak at the joint meeting of the US Senate and the House of Representatives. It is remembered that the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Niko Dendias, made a statement in the Greek Parliament on May 12, 2022, saying, “Imagine whether the USA reserved this honor for Mr. Erdogan or not?” which mobilized the opposition to Türkiye in his country. In fact, this speech does not stem from Mitsotakis’ political achievements. It is a meeting that commemorates the 200 years (!) independence of Greece. In fact, Greece became independent in 1830, not in 1821. However, the Greeks and the West recognize the year 1821, which was revolted against the Ottoman Empire, as the beginning of the independence process. For this reason, it was thought that the said speech will be held in 2021. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the meeting in question was held on May 17, 2022. At this point, “What topics were discussed in Mitsotakis’ trip?” question needs to be stated. According to the information reflected in the press, energy, current developments (F-16, F-35) and familiar Greek arguments were the topics discussed with the US officials.
Greece’s Efforts to Become an Energy Base
The Athens administration is striving to turn its country into an energy base. In fact, this is the strongest side of Greece. Greece attaches great importance to both renewable energy and solid fuel and gas energy. In this context, Greece is making various attempts to become the energy base of the Balkans region.
As it is known, Greece has inaugurated the largest double-surface solar farm in Europe on April 13, 2022, which can provide energy to 75,000 homes per year. Established with an investment of 130 million Euros, the farm has 500,000 double-faced panels. The country aims to provide 35% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030. This farm of Greece is also in line with the Green European goal of the European Union (EU).
The United Nations (UN) also does not take kindly to solid fossil fuels. On the other hand, because of the War in Ukraine, the EU tends to turn to solid fuels. But the UN warned the Union on this issue. Therefore, Greece has studies that are compatible with both modern energy and EU and UN requirements. For example, the increasing LNG loads coming to the liquefied natural gas terminal and facilities in Revithussa, an islet west of Athens, Greece, have been contributing to the Bulgarian market since April 27, 2022, when Gazprom turned off the tap and met 90% of its natural gas needs.
Again, Greece established a Floating Storage and Re-Gasification Unit in Alexandroupoli on May 5, 2022. It was inaugurated by US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt, together with the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the leaders of Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia, as a demonstration of his regional leadership.
Energy Transmission and EastMed
On May 9, 2022, Greek, USA, Greek Cypriot Administration (GCA) and Israel Foreign Ministers Dendias, Antony Blinken, Yanis Kasulides and Yair Lapid held a virtual meeting in the form of 3+1. Dendias, at the meeting, “emphasized the importance that Greece attaches to interconnector and energy security.”
As is known, the shipment of Russian gas to Europe has been almost completely cut off due to the Russia-Ukraine War. The parties apply energy sanctions to each other. Both sides seek to change both their markets and routes. At this point, EastMed is seen as a hope for the EU. However, the USA stated that it did not find the project in question feasible on the grounds that it passed through the disputed region and withdrew from the initiative. Therefore, Greece wants to persuade the USA in energy transportation and in the issue of returning to the EastMed by saying, “I am the energy base”.
In this complex energy environment, Melina Travlos, President of the Greek Shipowners Association, said: “The Greek fleet continues its leading role in the maritime field” and “represents 59% of the EU fleet. It inspects 32% of the world’s tanker fleet, 25% of bulk carriers and 22% of LNG ships”[1]. However, the decision to sanction Russian oil will negatively affect Greek sailors due to the obligation to comply with the sanction. In fact, the transportation business will benefit the Turks and the Chinese.
As might be expected, Mitsotakis also discussed this issue with US President Joe Biden and other US officials. Athens advocates an approach such as “Greek sailors should either be exempted from the oil sanctions imposed on Russia or the Turks should join these sanctions”. If Greece cannot get the USA and EU to accept this request, the Greek shippers will either carry the US and African oil to the EU or they will continue to carry Russian oil illegally.
Undoubtedly, Greece, which is economically bankrupt, needs this transportation. As of the end of 2021, Greece’s external debt is 556.4 billion Euros.[2] An additional 9 billion Euros was paid to the debt-ridden country by the European Commission on 12 May 2022, in return for Greek bonds, within the scope of the Next Generation EU Recovery Fund. Therefore, energy comes first among the topics discussed during Mitsotakis’ visit.
Turkish Dimension of the Issue
On October 15, 2021, the 2nd Amendment Protocol to the USA-Greece Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement was signed. The protocol was adopted by the Greek Parliament on May 12, 2022, with 181 votes for and 119 against. In his speech at the parliament on the day of the vote, Mitsotakis both criticized Türkiye and revealed that the Agreement was directed to Türkiye, saying that “The Agreement is a vote of confidence against all kinds of madness of our neighbors”.
Upgrading of F-16s
On October 15, 2021, when the protocol was signed, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that it welcomed Washington’s interest in joining Athens’ F-35 fighter jet programme, highlighting some of the country’s recent updates to its F-16 jets and Sikorsky helicopters. Foreign Minister Dendias stated that he would oppose the modernization of the Turkish F-16 at the meeting that Mitsotakis will hold in the USA on May 12, 2022. In this context, Dendias said, “Modernizing the Turkish arsenal is a serious problem for the form. Greece’s view on this issue is clear and we will clearly state it during the visit.”
Türkiye conveyed its desire to purchase 40 new F-16s and upgrade its existing 80 F-16s to the same version in October 2021. It is thought that especially the Russia-Ukraine War has increased the importance of Türkiye in the eyes of the USA. Therefore, it is expected that Ankara’s request will be accepted. This, on the other hand, creates discomfort in Athens.
Production and Delivery of F-35s
Greece has announced that it wants to be included in the F-35 fighter jet program that Türkiye was removed from. It is planned that Greece will deliver the S-300 air defense missiles in its possession to Germany, and that Germany will deliver these old missiles to Ukraine after modernizing them. The GCA bought these missiles from Russia in 1997; but after Türkiye’s reaction, it was handed over to Greece. Missiles are known to have been deployed to Crete. Believing that these missiles are still useful for itself, even though they are old technology, Greece does not look warmly at giving the S-300s to Ukraine. But there is the possibility of giving the missiles in exchange for the F-35. On the other hand, it should not be ignored that this situation may cause some tensions in Athens-Moscow relations.
Since it bought S-400 defense missiles from Russia in 2017, Türkiye was excluded from the F-35 manufacturing process and was subject to CAATSA sanctions. It is thought that Türkiye suffered a loss of around 1.4 billion dollars from this exclusion. At the moment, many statesmen in the USA think that they punished Türkiye for its rapprochement with Russia, but that more would mean losing Ankara.
Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean
Mitsotakis, in his speech on May 12, 2022, announced that Türkiye’s flights would be discussed during the visit. In addition, it was learned that he brought the Cyprus and Pontus issues to the agenda.
On the other hand, the issue of hydrocarbon studies and maritime jurisdictions in the Eastern Mediterranean is a field struggle for Greece. In this sense, Athens wishes to receive the support of the Washington administration and even believes that this support is vital. In fact, the Athens administration’s approval for the establishment of a second naval base in Suda (Crete) for the USA is a reflection of the aforementioned search for support. At the same time, this situation is related to Greece’s national plan of action and its decision to establish a permanent presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In line with all this information, it is possible to evaluate Mitsotakis’ visit to the USA on two dimensions. The first of these is the energy issue. In fact, energy is one of the main issues that brings the two states together. The second is Greece’s efforts to find international support for its problems with Türkiye, which it sees as an enemy. In other words, it is a Greek protest Türkiye to the USA.
[1] “Greeks own 59% of EU fleet”, Ekathimerini, https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1184280/greeks-own-59-of-eu-fleet/, (Date of Accession: 13.05.2022).
[2] “External debt”, Bank of Greece, https://www.bankofgreece.gr/en/statistics/external-sector/external-debt, (Date of Accession: 14.05.2022).
