It took several decades, but Greece has finally welcomed in the United States — at Russia’s expense.
Nearly 40 years ago, Greek people were marching in the streets against U.S. military bases in the region. Banners declared: “Out with the bases of death!” Across the nation, surveys showed most Greeks felt closer to Russia, a fellow Christian Orthodox nation that had helped the Greeks fight off Ottoman rule in 1821, than they did to the U.S.
Even in the 2000s, Greek-U.S. relations remained frosty. Athens flirted with strengthening its ties to Moscow.
That’s all changed.
In recent years, U.S.-Greece relations have grown much tighter — tighter than ever, officials on both sides proclaim. And much of that cooperation has directly affected Russia.
Greece has granted the U.S. open-ended access to four pivotal military bases, frustrating Russia. It has started receiving U.S. liquefied natural gas at a port near Athens, providing an alternative to Russia. And U.S. corporate giants have been establishing Greece as a regional hub — JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Pfizer, Amazon, Cisco, Tesla and Deloitte have all made significant moves in the country recently.
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This U.S. foothold has become increasingly important as Moscow menaces Ukraine with hoards of troops piled up at the border, pushing Washington and its allies to draw up military response plans. Those plans inevitably flow through Greece.
“This has been a very rewarding period,” said Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, who came to Athens nearly six years ago after a post in Ukraine. “Greece is very much part of the larger and systematic U.S. effort to ensure alignment with our NATO and European allies as we respond to what Russia is threatening to do in Ukraine.”
For those who have tracked the region for decades, the flipped dynamic is astounding.
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