Ex-US envoy upbeat on Greece’s regional status
Amid the downturn in bilateral relations between the US and NATO ally Turkey, sealed by Ankara’s purchase of a Russian missile defense system, Washington looks to Greece as a factor of regional stability, former American ambassador Nicholas Burns said in an interview with Sunday’s Kathimerini, in which he expressed optimism over the prospects created by last year’s Prespes accord.
“As the US and Turkey have encountered difficult relations, the US looks to Greece to maintain stability in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Burns, now a Harvard professor. Regarding the name deal that unblocked Skopje’s NATO and European Union ambitions, he saw “few impediments to an expanding Greek role in Southeastern Europe.”
“Greece can be a major force for stability in the Balkans. It can also continue to be an important source of support for Cyprus,” he said.
The full interview with Nicholas Burns will be published on Tuesday.
