For over four years, Turkey was unable to get the Biden administration to lift CAATSA sanctions. Now, as we are seeing in various reports, this issue is back on the table following a call between President Trump and President Erdogan last week. Aside from the lifting of sanctions, the biggest prize Erdogan reportedly was after in his call with Trum…

Moody’s recently upgraded Greece to investment grade, becoming the last major ratings agency to do so since Greece emerged from its financial crisis in the 2010s. The Greek government welcomed the news, with former Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis saying the upgrade marks the end of “a major cycle” for Greece, while Prime Minister Mitsotakis reit…

On Wednesday Turkish authorities detained Ekrem Imamoglu, the popular mayor of Istanbul and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strongest political rival, a move that follows a wider crackdown on opposition figures over the past months. Imamoglu, who was preparing to assume the presidency of the CHP, the main opposition party, has said he will…

For months Turkey’s President Erdogan has avoided wading into the latest peace process with Turkey’s Kurds and the PKK. Last week he broke his silence, saying he was prepared to meet with members of the country’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party who have played a key role in talks with Abdullah Ocalan. Amberin Zaman, Al-Monitor’s chief correspondent based in …

Last week on Thursday the foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Israel met in Athens, a meeting that put their trilateral relationship back in the spotlight. This meeting also came as the region deals with important questions that range from the future of a post-Assad Syria to Washington’s commitment to European security. Dr. Gallia Lindenstrauss…

Late last week Prime Minister Mitsotakis announced his broadest cabinet reshuffle yet in the wake of national protests over the handling of the Tempe train crash two years ago. As Mitsotakis looks to rebuild trust with voters, his cabinet is also becoming younger. The Prime Minister promoted several ministers in their 40s, emphasizing the need for …

The past few months have rocked the Transatlantic relationship, as European leaders try to come to terms with a growing rift between Europe and the US that ranges from Ukraine to questions about America’s overall commitment to European defense and security. As the gap between Europe and America widens, this is also raising key questions in Greece, …

A deal signed earlier this week by Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the commander in chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazlum Kobane, is viewed by many as a turning point for Syria’s Kurds. It also comes amid escalating violence across Syria which has cast serious doubts over al-Sharaa’s ability to earn the trust of …

Almost two years into his second term, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is now set to reboot his government, with announcements of a cabinet reshuffle expected later this week or early next week. The move comes after a string of national protests over the Tempe rail crash, and amid an uncertain geopolitical environment that is raising a number of…

For many, the economic crisis that gripped Greece in the previous decade is over. However, its legacy is still there, and it goes well beyond the country’s economy. One such legacy is Greece’s birthrate, which was already declining, but the crisis accelerated its fall. As Greece faces a declining population, it also needs to ensure economic growth,…

Late last week a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a piece of legislation that would redesignate Turkey as a Near Eastern country at the State Department, rather than a European country. The legislation followed a hearing in the House on Turkey, where serious concerns about Turkey’s role as a US and NATO ally …

Turkey’s Erdogan has once again played up his country’s importance on the world stage - especially when it comes to defense issues - telling Europeans that their security is “unthinkable without Turkey.” These comments come despite Ankara’s well documented and aggressive moves in the region, from the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean to the Cauc…

Despite the Trump administration’s 90-day freeze on foreign aid, the State Department announced it was unfreezing $95 million in military assistance to Lebanon. The move is seen as a vote of confidence from the US in the new political order emerging in Lebanon, and in its efforts to continue to degrade Hezbollah. Steven Howard, the Director of Poli…

Last week, a fake news report claiming the US was going to ditch Alexandroupoli put the northern Greek port city in the spotlight. This report even reached the Oval Office, where President Trump quickly shut down the story. In the wake of the story, Kathimerini recently took a deep dive into the numbers, looking at how Alexandroupoli has become an …

Germany’s recent election paved the way for the leader of the opposition conservative Christian Democrats, Friedrich Merz, to take over as chancellor once coalition talks wrap up. The election is also raising broader questions about German and European politics, with the far-right AfD making big gains, while the question remains whether Merz is up …

Last week Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, called on the movement to lay down its arms and dissolve. Ocalan’s historic announcement has many hoping that it will bring an end to nearly 4 decades of conflict between Ankara and the country’s Kurds. On Friday, Thanos Davelis spoke to Giran Ozcan, the Executive Director of the Kurdish …

On Wednesday President Trump said the EU was formed to “screw the United States,” then announced he would hit the EU with 25% tariffs. This has prompted a reaction from European officials and capitals, who point out that the EU has had the opposite effect, fostering closer business ties and trade links with the US. Maria Demertzis, the chief econom…

President Donald Trump’s return to office has been described as an “electroshock” in Europe, with leading politicians like Germany’s Friedrich Merz openly pledging “independence from the US.” Aside from his antagonistic approach toward Europe - from security to tariffs - Trump is also sending a clear signal that he wants to leave European affairs t…

Greece is bracing for demonstrations that will bring the country to a halt this Friday, as it marks the two-year anniversary of the Tempe rail crash - the country’s worst ever rail disaster in which 57 people died. The public outcry is testing the political system, from the government to the opposition, with Prime Minister Mitsotakis acknowledging …

Monday, February 24, marked three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As President Trump looks to bring a swift end to the war, his and his officials’ statements on Ukraine, President Zelensky, and European security, along with the decision to bypass allies and engage in talks with Russia’s Putin, have left many in the W…

While Turkey may have expected that a second Trump term would mean improved ties with the White House, the first month of the Trump administration has shown us that Washington still views Turkey as an unreliable partner. In fact, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent engagements with the Middle East point to a regional strategy that seems to marg…

Earlier this week Cypriot President Christodoulides was in Egypt where the two countries signed two energy agreements that he described as “pivotal”. The deals would enable the export of gas from Cyprus’s offshore fields to Egypt for liquefaction and re-export to Europe, and, as President Christodoulides posted on X, “are game changers for the regi…

Earlier this week we saw Turkish police detain 282 people accused of ties to the PKK. This included journalists, politicians, and academics. These arrests are taking place as Ankara continues to remove elected pro-Kurdish mayors from their posts. At the same time, they coincide with reports that a deal could be at hand over the country’s Kurdish qu…

It’s safe to say that Steve Bannon, a one-time close adviser to Donald Trump and the voice of the MAGA movement, has a unique role in both the Republican camp and in driving the conversation in Washington, DC in the Trump 2.0 era. Kathimerini’s Iliana Magra, who met with Steve Bannon last week in Washington, joins Thanos Davelis to discuss her in-d…

The past week has thrown the Transatlantic relationship into turmoil, with the shocks for Europe coming one after the other. First Defense Secretary Hegseth said the US is no longer the “primary guarantor” of European security. This was followed up by President Trump’s phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin that seemed to sideline Ukraine and Euro…

Greece’s two-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council began at the outset of 2025. Since then, Greece has been at the heart of key discussions and initiatives - from playing a role in renewing the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus to the Security Council adopting its resolution on maritime security in …

World leaders met in Paris earlier this week for the AI Action Summit, a global summit on artificial intelligence. While France and the EU pledged to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the AI sector, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was also in Paris, put a spotlight on how Greece is helping to shape European…

This past weekend voters in Kosovo went to the polls in an election that many saw as critical for the future of its relations with the US and the EU, but also when it comes to stalled talks with Serbia to normalize ties. Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who has pushed hardline policies vis-a-vis Kosovo’s Serbs, won the general election, but his party fe…

For the past decade, Cyprus, the EU’s easternmost state and the closest to the Middle East, has stood as one of the EU’s frontline states when it comes to the migration crisis. The fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza are now raising new questions about migration and regional security. Nicholas Ioannides, the Depu…

We’re coming to you from the sidelines of the 6th Delphi Forum in Washington DC, a two-day conference organized by HALC, Kathimerini’s English Edition, and the Delphi Economic Forum today, where the spotlight is on Greece, Cyprus, Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. This is a region at the crossroads of three continents and at the heart…

A few months after Russia’s President Putin invaded Ukraine, Russia and Turkey used a nuclear project to sidestep US sanctions. In short, Moscow slipped billions of dollars through US banks into Turkey, from which the money could bankroll Russian state initiatives. Now US prosecutors are eyeing $2 billion worth of Russian funds that are stuck at JP…

A story that's been in and out of the headlines in Greece lately has to do with France and the potential sale of Meteor missiles to Turkey. While the story is putting Greece’s relations with France and other EU partners in the spotlight, it also raises questions about European arms sales to countries like Turkey. This debate comes amid calls for Eu…

A provisional mining deal last year between Turkey and Niger, one of the world’s biggest uranium producers, has analysts asking if Turkey is taking quiet yet deliberate steps toward producing enriched uranium fuel, a step that could one day lead to nuclear weapons. Andrea Stricker, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ (…

According to recent reports - notably in the Financial Times - the EU is debating a return to Russian gas as part of a Ukraine peace deal, with officials from Germany and Hungary endorsing the idea. This discussion is unfolding as President Trump is threatening tariffs against the EU if it doesn’t buy more American LNG, and as Europe grapples with …

Last week President Christodoulides delivered his annual “State of the Union” address, highlighting his vision for Cyprus in 2025. The President laid out an ambitious reform agenda that will not only modernize Cyprus, but improve the brand of Cyprus both on the international stage and in the eyes of its own citizens. Irene Piki, the Deputy Minister…

Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat and President Trump’s choice to serve as the Director of National Intelligence, just went through a tense Senate confirmation hearing, facing bipartisan skepticism about her suitability for the role. Georgia Logothetis, HALC’s Managing Director, joins Thanos Davelis to look into Gabbard’s political transformation, h…

Top lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party have now met with Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the PKK, on a few occasions, generating some buzz around the potential for a deal that could bring the decades-long conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurds to an end. This is taking place amid seismic geopolitica…

President Trump promised to shake up how Washington does business, and he has wasted no time since his inauguration. From executive orders to a call with Denmark’s leader over Greenland, Trump seems to be making good on his pledge to disrupt American domestic and foreign policy. What will this mean for the US and its allies, particularly in Europe?…

As President Trump assumed office repeating his campaign slogan of “drill, baby, drill”, Greece announced that US energy giant Chevron is interested in exploring for oil and gas in Greek waters. The move comes as President Trump has also called on Europe to buy more US energy. John Psaropoulos joins Thanos Davelis to look into this latest developme…

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias just became the first member of Greece’s government to visit the US since President Trump’s inauguration with a trip that took him beyond the Beltway to cities like Chicago. Beyond engaging with the diaspora, Dendias’ trip put Greece in the spotlight for a wider American audience. Endy Zemenides, HALC’s Executiv…

Recent findings from the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Global 100 study reveal that while global antisemitism has surged across the world over the last decade, Greece is bucking this trend. In fact, it recorded the largest decrease in antisemitic attitudes globally, with a 19-point drop. Aykan Erdemir, the Senior Director for Global Research and D…

Opening its doors in 2022, the Cyprus Center for Land, Open-seas, and Port Security, otherwise known as CYCLOPS, is now not only on the front line of US and European security, but is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to relations between Washington and Nicosia. Michael Rubin, the director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum and a…

As President Trump outlined his “America first” foreign policy vision in his inaugural address, other key players on the foreign policy chess board in Washington are also moving into place, from Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking over the State Department to new leaders in Congress. Laura Kelly, the foreign policy reporter for The Hill, joins Th…

Prime Minister Mitsotakis announced his pick for President of Greece last week, selecting New Democracy veteran Kostas Tasoulas. The decision is not only indicative of the direction Mitsotakis is looking to move in 2025, but it also sets the stage for a new political battleground between New Democracy and PASOK. Nick Malkoutzis, the co-founder and …

Since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, many have repeated the analysis that Turkey is “the winner” in Syria. Is this the case, however? Has Turkey really won anything yet? Developments on the ground indicate that this may not be the case. Steven Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on For…

In a move heralded as historic, President Joe Biden issued a presidential determination this week officially including Cyprus in three critical US defense programs. Cyprus hailed the decision allowing military sales, including arms, to the island as a milestone affirming the country’s role as a pillar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. Lena…

As we approach inauguration day, one of President-elect Donald Trump’s closest allies, Elon Musk, has been using his social media platform X to openly support political parties like the far-right AfD in Germany ahead of the country’s election, or has called for an end to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government in the UK. His posts are raising question…

Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ visit to Saudi Arabia this week has put a spotlight on Greece’s strategy in the Middle East, coming about a week after a trilateral summit in Cairo with Egypt’s President Sisi and Cyprus’ President Christodoulides, and a month after a visit to Lebanon. Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s diplomatic and defense editor, joins Tha…

All eyes are on Prime Minister Mitsotakis as Greeks wait to hear who he plans to nominate as Greece’s next president. While the position is a largely ceremonial one, who is selected will send a message across the political spectrum, and will likely set the tone for the remainder of Mitsotakis’ term as he will have to decide whether to appease his p…

As we approach the 51st dark anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus this year, there is a renewed push to locate and identify the remains of 951 missing Greek and Turkish Cypriots. To this day, the search continues for those lost during periods of inter-communal violence or - the large part - during Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Nektaria…