Μake us preferred on Google Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to arrive in Athens on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 6, for the sixth round of the Greece-U.S. Strategic Dialogue, with the final details of the visit set to be agreed upon over the next two days. The talks are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7, barring any unforeseen developments. Rubio is due to leave on the morning of Oct. 8, after a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, according to government officials familiar with the planning. The American delegation has not been finalized, but Rubio is almost certain to be joined by senior officials from several different departments.
Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou is overseeing preparations on the Greek side. Much of that preparatory work has already concluded, but officials expect chnages and adjustments up to the last minute.
Rubio appears to have chosen the timing with the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3 in mind, possibly to send a message to the region before US voters head to the polls. The visit comes as Greece faces growing Turkish provocations, as major projects that Washington follows closely, such as the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), a planned undersea power cable that will connect Greece, Cyprus and Israel, are being restarted, and as the feud between Israel and Turkey continues unabated.
The full program for the sixth round of the Greece-U.S. Strategic Dialogue is still being drawn up, but the Greek ministries of national defense and of environment and energy will certainly take part. Energy is expected to be one of the main areas of focus, a fact that became clear during a recent visit to Greece by Allison Hooker, the under secretary of state for political affairs. This specific area of focus reflects deepening cooperation between the two countries, with Greece increasingly viewed by the US as an energy security hub for the wider region. It is still unclear whether this round of talks will include a renewal of the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) between Greece and the United States. The upgraded version, agreed in October 2021, remains in force unless either side gives written notice of termination, which makes it open-ended.
The agenda
The sixth round of the Greece-U.S. Strategic Dialogue is expected to cover defense and security, trade and investment, energy and the environment, counterterrorism, civil protection and the ties between the Greek and American people. It will also address regional cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the “3+1” format linking Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the United States, as well as new areas of cooperation btetween these 4 countries, such as innovation. Greece is also all but certain to raise Turkey’s escalating provocations with Rubio. Washington, for its part, remains keen to see the remaining maritime boundaries in the region settled in line with international law.
Rubio’s visit comes amid a continuing debate over whether Turkey could return to the F-35 fighter jet program, and with a Turkish bill on the so-called “Blue Homeland” doctrine, Ankara’s sweeping view of its maritime claims, expected soon. Regardless of the agenda, Rubio’s presence in Athens is bound to draw a reaction from Ankara and the Turkish press.
