The Greek Current

As countries around the world scramble to see who is going to win the AI race, Greece is also looking to secure its own AI future. Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ emphasis on AI, coupled by signature deals with OpenAI and Mistral AI, is putting a spotlight on Greece’s efforts to play a larger role on the AI frontier. Niko Efstathiou, an Athens based journalist and author, joins Thanos Davelis as we loo...

With talks over a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war moving along, the latest peace proposals have caught the attention of many, including Cyprus, where Turkey’s 51 year illegal occupation serves as a stark reminder of what happens when revisionist powers are not checked. Harris Georgiades, the Chairman of the Foreign and European Affairs Committee of the Cypriot Parliament, a former Minister of F...

Two of America’s key Mediterranean partners, Greece and Israel, are deepening their defense and security ties, a trend that extends beyond arms sales to joint exercises. The move comes amid Turkish provocations and as US interests in the Mediterranean, particularly on energy security, are growing. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Ryan Brobst and Justin Leopold-Cohen join Thanos Davelis a...

Halki Theological Seminary, shut by Turkey in 1971, is back in the headlines ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Turkey. Journalists are reporting that there is a sense of optimism that Turkey will reopen the school. This attention on Halki follows a renewed focus on Orthodox Christianity that includes the Ecumenical Patriarch’s visit to the White House, references to the Russian Orthodox Church in T...

Last week we got a look at the details of President Trump’s 28 point plan for an end to the war in Ukraine, with the President setting a Thursday deadline for  Ukraine - where many see the proposed plan as a capitulation - to agree to it. US and Ukrainian officials met on Sunday in Geneva, with the White House hailing talks as constructive. Paul Stares, the director of the Center for Preventive Ac...

The New York Times just ran a piece about a wave of new converts to Orthodox Christianity in the US, especially among young conservative men, the so-called “Orthobros”. The trend is largely driven by hard-line influencers on YouTube and other social media platforms, and has put parishes in uncharted territory. George Demacopoulos, the co-director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham...

This week Italy’s defense minister accused Russia of waging a hybrid war on the continent, while Poland's Donald Tusk said that Russia was behind an explosion on Saturday on a railway line used to transport weapons to Ukraine. This is pushing Europe to take additional steps to beef up its defense amid wider concerns that Russia could take these hybrid attacks a step further. Charles Kupchan, a sen...

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington this week, with the foreign minister stressing how the relationship with the US is “a compass” in Cyprus’ foreign policy. Evangelos Savva, the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the United States, joins Thanos Davelis as we break down the significance of this meeting, and look at the message it sends ab...

The Wall Street Journal ran a story earlier this month highlighting how the problem economies in Europe are no longer in the south, but in the north, with France and Germany dealing with budget deficits and debt while the former crisis hot spots like Greece look financially healthier. Mij Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group, joins Thanos Davelis as we take a closer look at th...

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was just in Athens on Sunday, signing an agreement with Greece for gas imports ahead of what’s expected to be a tough winter. John Psaropoulos joins Thanos Davelis as we look at this agreement, which comes days after Greece signed landmark energy deals with the US, and which puts Greece’s role in supporting both Ukraine and Europe’s effort to break its depen...

Last week’s deal between ExxonMobil, Energean and Helleniq Energy for exploration and drilling in the Ionian Sea generated a lot of buzz both in Greece and - as we saw at P-TEC in Athens - among US officials. This move comes as another US energy giant, Chevron, is also engaging with Greece and Cyprus. Energy expert Dr. Theodoros Tsakiris joins Thanos Davelis to break down why these deals could be...

In a recent interview former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras - who was expelled from New Democracy a year ago - took a swing at the government, and many are asking not if, but when he will form a new party. Tom Ellis, the editor in chief of Kathimerini’s English edition, joins Thanos Davelis as we explore what this could mean for Greece’s ruling party and Greek politics. You can read the articles w...

In a move that no one could have seen coming a year ago, President Trump hosted Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa - formerly on Washington’s list of wanted terrorists - at the White House this week. Thanos Davelis is joined by Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and expert on the Middle East, as we look into al-Sharaa’s transformation and the messag...

Energy is at the heart of the US-Greece relationship these days, especially with a landmark offshore gas exploration deal with ExxonMobil and a 20-year LNG agreement with the US. Thanos Davelis is joined by Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, as we look at how energy is driving US-Greece relations forward, and how it’s giving the 3+1 partnership of Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the US a new boost. You can rea...

The election of Egypt’s Khaled El-Enany as the new Director General of UNESCO and the recent announcement from Prime Minister Mitsotakis that Greece and Egypt have worked to preserve the status of Saint Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai have put cultural heritage in the spotlight. Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou, an expert on religious freedom issues and cultural heritage, joins Thanos Davelis as we lo...

This week President Erdogan said Turkey had entered a ‘new juncture’ in the Kurdish peace process, signalling he was open to the idea of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan addressing lawmakers. In another startling move, he also suggested that he was open to the release of the jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş. Lisel Hintz, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Johns Hopkins...

Turkey has been expanding its diplomatic, economic, and security footprint in Africa over the past decade. A surge in arms sales is now raising alarms, as Turkish arms - primarily drones - end up in conflict zones and in the hands of unaccountable actors. William Doran, the co-author of the recent Foreign Policy Magazine piece “How Turkish Arms End Up In African Conflicts”, joins Thanos Davelis to...

Turkey is eager to capitalize on its role in the Gaza ceasefire, and is now looking to have an active presence - even with troops on the ground - in a post-war Gaza. It seems President Trump also sees a role for Turkey here, something that is alarming Israel. Henri Barkey, an adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Cohen chair in international rela...

An unlikely figure, Maria Karystianou, is at the heart of political speculation in Greece. Local media is filled with rumors that the mother of one of the victims of the deadly Tempe train crash and figurehead of a wave of protests that followed may enter politics, and polling shows she could draw in significant support. Nick Malkoutzis, the co-founder of Macropolis.gr, joins Thanos Davelis to loo...

Last week we looked into the US quest for energy dominance and what it means for Greece. This week energy is back on the agenda, as Greece plays host to top energy officials from the US, Cyprus, and Israel. These meetings also mark the first official appearance of US Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle in Athens. Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s diplomatic and defense editor, joins Thanos Davelis as we exp...

A little over 2 years ago, the October 7th attack by Hamas shifted the world’s attention away from the newly announced India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEEC, a project Greece and Cyprus are also vying to play a key role in. With the Israel-Gaza ceasefire in place, is it now time to revive this project? Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer just called Turkey’s purchase of 20 Eurofighter jets - a deal that has gotten a lot of attention - a “landmark moment.” This move comes as Turkey looks to fill gaps in its aging air-force, and as Ankara attempts to make up ground with countries like Greece and Israel.  Ryan Gingeras, a professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgra...

Energy has become a critical piece of the puzzle for the Trump administration as it looks to project strength abroad, and it seems Greece is on Washington’s radar. Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and director of its newly established Energy and National Security Program, joins Thanos Davelis as we look at America’s quest for energy dominance and the...

As we’ve seen time and time again in the past, the Greek diaspora has always played a key role in standing with Greece in its time of need. World War II was no exception. As Greeks delivered their famous “Ohi” - or “NO” to the Axis powers on October 28th, 1940, Greek-Americans also stepped up to the plate. Professor Alexander Kitroeff, a historian and expert on the Greek diaspora, joins Thanos Dav...

Last week President Trump hit Russia’s biggest oil producers - Rosneft and Lukoil - with sanctions, a move many see as a major shift from the Trump administration that puts it on the same page as Europe when it comes to pressuring Moscow. Laurence Norman, the European reporter for The Wall Street Journal, joins Thanos Davelis as we look at this shift from President Trump and break down what it mea...