Regional deterioration unsettling Athens
The prospect of a further deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, as well as the unforeseen direction that the Russian-Ukrainian war has taken, has generated concern in Athens, which is closely monitoring developments but, of course, unable to have a meaningful impact.
Both of the current geopolitical concerns, especially the Middle East, are geographically located in the wider regional Greek environment.
The situation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden is harming significant infrastructure in Greece, such as the port of Piraeus, which saw a 13.5% decline in container traffic in the first five months of 2024, benefiting Northern European ports.
Furthermore, there is concern about further pricing pressure on imported products, which are increasingly arriving in the Greek market, having traveled longer distances.
In short, Athens has limited influence over what is happening in the US-Israel-Iran axis, but it is attempting to avert negative consequences.
To this end, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and the Greek diplomatic missions in the region, from Lebanon and Israel to Cairo, Amman and the Persian Gulf, have increased their contacts in recent days in order, first, to gain an overview of the latest developments and, second, to exhaust any Greek influence in the effort to reduce tensions.
Despite the limits of Greek influence on unfolding events, it appears that in some instances Athens can convey certain messages to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, regardless of whether it is ready – or, even more so – willing to listen.
At the same time, Athens, in coordination with Nicosia, which is a stone’s throw from the field of possible war crisis, is preparing for operations of mass evacuation of civilians from the Middle East.
Ships docked in Cyprus have the capacity to transport hundreds of civilians if necessary. Cyprus has already activated the Estia plan for the evacuation of civilians. Athens has already consulted with allies and partners (France, Italy, US, Germany) and requests for assistance in case evacuation assistance is required have been received from countries such as Canada, Hungary and Japan, indicating that fears of an escalation are growing by the hour.
