Foreign Policy
Tsipras raises debt relief at UN but refugee crisis may prove more pressing issue
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras chose to put the issue of debt relief front and centre when he spoke at the United Nations on Sunday, ahead of a busy few days of meetings in New York.
Refugee crisis poses multiple political challenges for Tsipras
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras promised on Friday an emergency plan to deal with a growing refugee and migrant crisis in Greece that has caught his government completely unprepared.
Greece trying to redefine its diplomatic role in the Western Balkans
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias’s recent tour of the Western Balkans has ended up causing a diplomatic row between Belgrade and Athens. It seems that Serbia was annoyed by statements that Kotzias made during his visit to Kosovo's Pristina.
Greek ministers prepare Israel visits in bid to further relations
Two Greek ministers are due to visit Israel shortly as the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks coalition continues to attempt to bolster relations with Tel Aviv.
Athens and Skopje press ahead with confidence measures despite uncertainty
The governments in Athens and Skopje seem determined to move forward with talks on the adoption of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), despite the fraught political situation in both countries.
Athens wary of Skopje unrest but still aims to bolster ties
Athens has been monitoring with great concern the ongoing political crisis in the neighboring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) but the SYRIZA-led government is unlikely to be deterred in its efforts to build closer ties with Skopje.
Foreign minister's visit to Ankara sparks hope of new era in Greek-Turkish ties
A visit by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias to Turkey this week has given fresh hope of progress in relations between Athens and Ankara.
Athens keeps options open on gas pipelines despite nudge from Washington
The Greek government’s multi-pronged approach to energy issues has been in focus over the past few days after the US State Department sent Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein to Athens on Friday to convince Athens that it should concentrate its efforts on the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and not on extending the planned Turkish Stream pipeline through Greece.
Tsipras eyes movement on EEZ after second Greece, Cyprus and Egypt pact
The leaders of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt signed the Nicosia Declaration on Thursday, aiming at strengthening relations between the three countries.
Greek relations with US on edge due to law allowing terrorist's release
Relations between Greece and the USA became much tenser this week as a result of Greek Parliament approving on Monday a Justice Ministry bill that paves the way for November 17 terrorist Savvas Xiros to be released from prison before the end of his sentence and placed under house arrest.