A wide range of bilateral issues, A wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues were discussed during the private meeting between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and US President Joe Biden, and subsequently in the expanded talks between the two delegations.
According to government sources cited by the Greek protothema.gr, the Greek side appears very satisfied with the first day of the Greek Prime Minister's program in Washington, noting that the atmosphere in the meeting of the two leaders was very good, since, as noted, the American president knows in depth the issues of the Eastern Mediterranean, has a special interest in them, while his highly positive feelings towards Greece were reflected both in his frequent references to the Greek-American community, as well as in the time he devoted to these contacts.
The same sources said that Greek-American relations are at their best point ever and pointed out that Greece has a heavy role to play in the issue of defending and consolidating democracy worldwide, a subject in which Joe Biden takes a keen interest, namely the battle between democracies and authoritarian regimes. In this regard, moreover, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to devote a large part of his speech to Congress tonight, as the same persons point out.
During the discussion between the two leaders, Kyriakos Mitsotakis put to his interlocutor all the details concerning the recently intensifying Turkish provocativeness and especially the overflights over inhabited Greek islands.
In order to show the scope of Ankara's threats, the Prime Minister showed the US President a map of the Turks' "Blue Homeland".
"It is now clear that everyone understands that expansionism and revisionism have no place in an increasingly complex global context," government sources said after the White House meeting, confirming that the issue of Turkish provocativeness was not raised in isolation but as part of the security issues in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Regarding the issue of the sale of US F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, a competent government source referred to the Greek Prime Minister's speech to Congress today, stressing, however, that some issues are better not to be discussed in public. The same sources also stressed that the Greek Prime Minister referred to the Cyprus problem without mincing his words, reiterating that a two-state solution in the Greater Horn of Africa cannot be accepted.
On the way to the F 35
Government sources confirmed, moreover, that in the context of bilateral defense cooperation, Athens' decision that the 5th generation fighter aircraft that will man the Air Force will be the American F 35 is a foregone conclusion.
According to the same sources, Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his desire for Greece to join the programme, making it clear that Greece is interested in buying an F 35 squadron before the end of the current 10-year period, and specifically after 2028, when, as was emphatically stated, there will be the necessary budgetary space for such a move.
The same persons revealed that a few days ago the company producing the F 35, Lockheed Martin, informed in writing about its interest in Greece joining the program and the positive response of Athens will be transmitted within the next few days. "If we can agree on all parameters, these aircraft will be acquired after 2028, while the best way to finance such a long-term investment for Greece in 2030 will be sought," the same sources note, revealing Lockheed Martin's interest in investing in EAV in the near future with the necessary clarification that there is no mention of a majority stake so that the Greek state maintains public control of EAV.
Among the highlights of the Mitsotakis-Biden meeting at the White House was the agreement between the two leaders on the issue of reducing the price of natural gas internationally through the imposition of a cap.
The two men agreed to coordinate their actions ahead of the crucial extraordinary EU summit at the end of May, hence they reportedly authorized Nikos Tsafos, appointed special adviser to the Greek prime minister on energy issues, and Eric Hockstein, adviser to President Biden on energy issues, to work closely. "In order to keep the front against the Russian invasion unbroken we have to protect households and businesses, Greece has already done so with great courage by mobilising funds from the national budget, but this does not mean that we are not also active at the European level," government sources said, confirming that Athens is awaiting the submission of the relevant proposals from the Commission. The same persons believe that a solution can be found either through the use of unused loans from the Recovery Fund, or through an intervention of a cap on the wholesale market of natural gas internationally. However, as it was said, "we cannot turn off the Russian gas switch overnight". With regard to the Eastmed pipeline, the Greek side reiterated its position that the final choice, i.e. whether to opt for the pipeline or LNG transport, will ultimately be determined by the market and costs. However, the warm American support for the electrical interconnections was reaffirmed, without excluding American investments in them in the future.
According to the same sources, there was also much discussion about the transformation of Alexandroupolis into a regional energy hub, but also about the many and significant American investments in Greece. During the contacts between the two men it became clear, according to the same sources, that Greek democracy has now proven its resilience as it overcame the difficult years of the economic crisis with the economy emerging stronger and the institutions becoming more shielded. The Greek side expressed the desire to expand bilateral cooperation in all possible areas, while Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed the hope that Biden would be able to visit Greece in the near future.
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