Greek-American Agreement in Parliament – ‘Clear positions’ from all parties, K. Mitsotakis demands

By Dimitris Gatsios

The anti-government-SYRIZA is expected to be transferred to the Parliament today, with New Democracy having just completed its congressional cycle and Koumoundourou preparing for next Sunday’s internal party ballots. The ratification of the renewal of the Greek-American Defense Cooperation Agreement comes in the Plenary Session, with the Prime Minister, both in his speeches at the 14th “blue date”, and in his position at yesterday’s meeting of the ruling party’s Political Committee to reflect the , but also the dilemmas he will put, mainly, to Alexis Tsipras and the official opposition.

“In the near future, we will have the opportunity to take important initiatives on issues related to foreign policy. In Parliament, we will discuss and ratify the Greek Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States. There, everyone will have the opportunity to What they really understand is the perception of the country’s alliances and the position of our country on this geopolitical map, which is changing so rapidly. What I do know is that Greece’s position has been strengthened geopolitically, “The prestige of our country is very high compared to what it was in July 2019, when the Greek people trusted us to govern the country”, was the characteristic disgust of Mr. Mitsotakis. The plenary debate, which is expected to take place in high tones, will be preceded by the first meeting of the Prime Minister with the new US Ambassador to Greece, George Tsounis. It will be the “carpet” to Mr. Mitsotakis’s move to Washington, where he will meet next Monday with US President Joe Biden at Athens’ biggest landmark in May on the geopolitical, economic and energy agenda. . This is because, at the forefront of the discussions that the two leaders will have, in a context of global liquidity and change, will be the close cooperation between Greece and the United States of America, the developments on the Ukrainian front, energy security, defense cooperation, investments, but also the situation in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean, after the last barrage of Turkish challenges in the Aegean. Greece, on the other hand, which aims at the immediate exit from the regime of enhanced supervision and the acquisition of an investment grade in 2023, is building an investment-friendly environment, which is expected to highlight, in every dimension, the Prime Minister in contacts. and his interventions in the United States.

During today, his noon speech in the Plenary Session, the Prime Minister is expected to always highlight the positive signs of the Athens-Washington defense agreement. As government officials point out, in recent weeks, with this move in this context of international change, on the one hand our country is shielded even more, on the other hand Greece is emerging as a strong pillar of stability in the wider region. That is, in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa. Regarding the agreement between the two countries, in the locations where the American presence will be extended, Alexandroupolis stands out, both due to the proximity to the Greek-Turkish border, and for the future operation of the city port as an energy hub. This is an area to which the Americans attach special importance, as through Evros they gain easy and fast access to the North, Bulgaria, Romania and the Black Sea. Souda is also extremely important, where the existing facilities will be expanded. Souda, but also Crete in general, is of key importance, because from its waters Greek and American ships can quickly approach the Eastern Mediterranean. The other two new locations are Litochoro and Stefanovikeio. Two mainland areas of central Greece, which will be used mainly as relocation sites for American aircraft.