While Greece and Turkey’s foreign ministers are working to lay the groundwork for a key summit between Prime Minister Mitsotakis and President Erdogan early next year, there are growing concerns that progress in resolving differences in the Aegean Sea is proving all but impossible. Tom Ellis, the editor in chief of Kathimerini’s English Edition, joins Thanos Davelis for a look at the ongoing Greek-Turkish dialogue, why achieving real progress in resolving differences remains elusive, and what to...
Dec 05, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1121
Ex-German chancellor Angela Merkel’s memoir was recently released, and many are racing to see what she has chosen to reveal about key moments and players from Europe’s recent past - from the financial crisis to migration and the pandemic. Naturally, Greece is at the heart of a number of these developments. Xenia Kounalaki, a journalist, columnist, and foreign editor at Kathimerini, joins Thanos Davelis for a deep dive into Merkel’s revelations, including her handling of the Greek financial crisi...
Dec 04, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1120
In a lightning offensive Syrian rebels seized Aleppo and are threatening other regime-held territories in the country. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s closest allies, Russia and Iran, pledged unconditional support to his government on Monday, while a number of other countries invested in Syria - including Turkey, Israel and the US - are watching developments closely. Steven Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and aut...
Dec 03, 2024•11 min•Ep. 1119
Developments over the past few months in Greece have seen SYRIZA lose its position as the main opposition in parliament to PASOK in the wake of leadership elections in both parties, the creation of a new political party on the left, and the ouster of a former prime minister from New Democracy. At the same time, the ripple effects of the US election are also being felt in Greek politics - as in the rest of Europe. Nektaria Stamouli, the deputy editor in chief of Kathimerini’s English Edition and ...
Nov 27, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1118
The launch of a strategic dialogue between Cyprus and the US last month was quickly followed up by another historic development: President Christodoulides’ visit to the White House. With US-Cyprus ties deepening at a rapid pace, this was a chance for Christodoulides to present his strategic vision for Cyprus, including, as reports indicate, the potential future integration of Cyprus into NATO. Lena Argiri, the Washington, DC correspondent for ERT - the Greek Public Broadcasting Company - and Kat...
Nov 26, 2024•10 min•Ep. 1117
Earlier this month we saw a mini crisis break out in the southern Aegean as Turkey deployed four frigates near the Greek islands of Kasos and Karpathos thinking that an Italian ship - which had been at the center of a 40-hour crisis last July - was in the area conducting research for the future deployment of underwater cables linking Greece and Cyprus. While this was ultimately a misunderstanding, it raises questions about relations between Greece and Turkey and the future of vital projects like...
Nov 25, 2024•11 min•Ep. 1116
This week Greece saw workers in the public and the private sector go on strike, demanding better wages in the face of rising costs across the board. This comes despite Greece’s economic success story, whether it's achieving investment grade or outperforming its Eurozone partners, and as the government announced it is set to make another early repayment of €5 billion of bailout-era loans. Nikos Vettas, the general director of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) and a profes...
Nov 22, 2024•11 min•Ep. 1115
On November 17th Greeks commemorated the 51st anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising - a seminal moment that effectively delivered the first real blow to the military dictatorship, or the junta, that was ruling Greece. While the story of the uprising itself is well known, the Greek diaspora around the world also played an important role in the fight against the junta. Alexander Kitroeff, a professor of history with an expertise on the Greek diaspora experience, joins Thanos Davelis to discuss t...
Nov 21, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1114
On Monday the US warned Turkey against hosting Hamas leadership after reports emerged that some Hamas leaders had moved to Turkey from Qatar, with State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller saying Washington will make it clear to Ankara that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas. Sinan Ciddi, a non-resident senior fellow at FDD and an expert on Turkish politics, joins Thanos Davelis to discuss this latest warning from Washington, and look at how the Hamas issue is likely to impact ...
Nov 20, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1113
This weekend Prime Minister Mitsotakis took a bold and risky move to expel former prime minister and lawmaker Antonis Samaras from New Democracy. The story, and its potential impact on the government, is the main issue dominating the headlines in Greece over the past few days. Wolfango Piccoli, the co-founder of the risk analysis company Teneo, joins Thanos Davelis to look into this latest development and break down what it means for Greece’s government, New Democracy, and its broader political ...
Nov 19, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1112
In 2016 European leaders treated Trump’s win as an aberration, something to ride out. Eight years later, European leaders are now trying to gauge what a second Trump presidency will mean for the continent. While Jean Monnet famously said “Europe will be forged in crisis,” the political turmoil in Germany and France, Europe’s two largest economies, has many asking if Europe is up for the challenge. Expert Max Bergmann joins Thanos Davelis to break down what European leaders should expect from the...
Nov 18, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1111
This week President-elect Donald Trump unveiled his picks for a number of positions that will have a direct impact on US diplomacy and national security - including his nominations of Senator Marco Rubio for Secretary of State and Representative Michael Waltz for National Security Adviser. As Trump’s national security team takes shape, Jonathan Schanzer, the senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Endy Zemenides, Executive Director of HALC, join Thano...
Nov 15, 2024•18 min•Ep. 1110
This past weekend Stefanos Kasselakis announced the formation of a new political movement as SYRIZA prepares for a key leadership race. The decision not only throws the party into further turmoil, but leaves it weaker than ever and on the verge of being replaced as Greece’s main opposition party. Nikos Efstathiou, an Athens based journalist and author, joins Thanos Davelis to discuss Stefanos Kasselakis’ decision to found a new party, and look at what this latest split within SYRIZA means for it...
Nov 14, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1109
Last Friday Greece and Turkey’s foreign ministers held a much anticipated meeting in Athens to see if there is a way forward on resolving differences between the two countries, primarily in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. While there were no major breakthroughs last week, continued talks between the two countries on critical issues are seen as important - especially when it comes to managing tensions. Constantinos Filis, the director of the Institute of Global Affairs and a professor of in...
Nov 13, 2024•10 min•Ep. 1108
Last month Greece unveiled a new and ambitious National Energy and Climate Plan that will almost eliminate electricity sector emissions by 2030. While these steps are massively important for the environment, they are also seen as an opportunity to unshackle Greece’s economy and create thousands of jobs. John Psaropoulos joins Thanos Davelis with an inside look into Greece’s ambitious climate goals, and breaks down how they can impact both the economy and Greece’s standing in the region. John Psa...
Nov 12, 2024•11 min•Ep. 1107
Over the past weeks we’ve seen Prime Minister Mitsotakis and his government put tax cuts and wages front and center, something made possible as a result of increased state revenue from economic growth, GDP gains, debt reduction, and a crackdown on tax evasion. Yiannis Mouzakis, the co-founder and editor of Macropolis.gr, a political and economic analysis site that focuses on Greece, joins Thanos Davelis to look at these proposed tax cuts, the broader picture of the Greek economy, and the politic...
Nov 11, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1106
The US election is now behind us and President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House in January. As the congratulatory messages streamed in from around the world, one of the world leaders who was quick to call Trump was President Erdogan. Turkey expert Nicholas Danforth, a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and Editor at War on the Rocks , joins Thanos Davelis to look at what the election of Donald Trump - well known f...
Nov 08, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1105
At the end of last month Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited the site of the Holocaust museum that is being built in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, a city that was home to a thriving and important Jewish community numbering in the tens of thousands before World War II. The museum has been years in the making, and, as The Guardian reported recently, is set to open in 2026. Leon Saltiel joins Thanos Davelis to break down what this means for the Jewish community of the cit...
Nov 07, 2024•11 min•Ep. 1104
Europe has closely watched the US presidential election over the past months, anxiously waiting to see who will be elected and what America will emerge after the elections. Yannis Palaiologos, a journalist at large with Kathimerini, joined Thanos Davelis on Tuesday as the polls were still open in the US to break down what it has been like watching - and covering - this high stakes US election from Europe, how the American experiment with democracy has influenced him and others across Europe, and...
Nov 06, 2024•13 min•Ep. 1103
While all eyes are on the US elections today, in Greece it seems that there is a permanent state of campaigning. After the PASOK elections a few weeks ago, SYRIZA is now preparing for its own leadership elections this month. In the meantime, internal drama in New Democracy and PASOK’s improved poll numbers have caught the media’s attention as well. Panos Koliastasis, adjunct lecturer in politics at the Hellenic Open University and author of the book Permanent campaigning in Greece in times of cr...
Nov 05, 2024•11 min•Ep. 1102
The past years have seen an exponential increase in the number of Americans who choose Greece for their vacation, and this trend is expected to continue in 2025. While Americans are arriving in Greece in droves, what do they really think about the country? That’s the focus of a recent poll that not only puts the spotlight on perceptions and impressions of Greece in the US, but also raises questions for Greece’s tourism sector about the country’s overall brand. Iliana Magra, a journalist with Kat...
Nov 04, 2024•10 min•Ep. 1101
With the US elections around the corner, discussions are already underway about how a new administration will tackle the question of Turkey. As this discussion intensifies, just a few days ago we saw members of Congress call out Turkish President Erdogan’s aggressive rhetoric against NATO and key allies. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Sinan Ciddi and Endy Zemenides, the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, join Thanos Davelis to look at why a new US adminis...
Nov 01, 2024•18 min•Ep. 1100
Earlier this week Greeks around the world celebrated “OXI Day” - the day 84 years ago that saw Greece reject the ultimatums of Italy’s Mussolini. The heroics of the Greek army during World War II are well known, as they showed occupied Europe that the Axis was not invincible. Today, however, I want to focus on another side of this story, and that’s the ongoing search for the remains of Greek soldiers who perished as the Greek army pushed the Italians back, many of them buried in the mountains of...
Oct 31, 2024•9 min•Ep. 1099
The Greek and Turkish foreign ministers are set to meet on November 8th in Athens to explore whether there is genuine room for substantive discussions on Greek-Turkish differences, particularly issues in the Aegean Sea. In the lead up to this meeting, neither Greece nor Turkey have deviated from their core positions, something diplomats say is expected. Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s diplomatic and defense editor, joins Thanos Davelis as we look ahead at this crucial meeting, breaking down what t...
Oct 30, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1098
This week Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis will head to Washington, DC for an official meeting with President Joe Biden at the Oval Office. The invitation - which was reported on this weekend - comes as US-Cyprus relations continue to reach new heights. These past few months alone have put this positive trajectory in the spotlight, with Cyprus and the US signing a defense cooperation agreement and initiating a strategic dialogue. Lena Argiri, the Washington, DC correspondent for ERT - the...
Oct 29, 2024•8 min•Ep. 1097
Just days after we saw moves that hinted a resumption of negotiations between Ankara and the PKK could be on the table, a deadly attack took place in Ankara that killed 5 people and left more than 20 wounded. Turkish authorities said the PKK stood behind the attack, and Turkey’s air force bombed Kurdish militant targets in neighboring Iraq and Syria. Ayla Jean Yackley, an Istanbul-based journalist covering Turkey with stories in The Financial Times, Politico, and other major outlets, joins Thano...
Oct 25, 2024•13 min•Ep. 1096
The Financial Times recently put the spotlight on a phenomenon that has been dubbed the “north Cyprus trap” that has seen tens of thousands of migrant students get lured with false promises to so-called universities in the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus. This practice is not only mired in fraud and human rights abuses, but also enables migrant smugglers who are moving many of these students through the Green Line. Joseph Wilkins, a journalist for the Financial Times based in Nicosia and the au...
Oct 24, 2024•11 min•Ep. 1095
With Israel appearing to expand its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, targeting the group's financial networks, the US is increasingly concerned that the conflict has “escalated out of control”, with top officials calling for the enforcement of a UN resolution that ended the previous major war between them in 2006. At the same time, there is renewed concern that the war is fueling Lebanon’s sectarian tensions, threatening the balance between Lebanon’s three main religious groups. Sean Mathews, a...
Oct 23, 2024•13 min•Ep. 1094
After a one-year manhunt, Israeli forces were able to kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week. Could this pave the way for a reset in a region grappling with the aftermath of the deadly October 7th, 2023, attack Sinwar stood behind? Endy Zemenides, the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, joins Thanos Davelis to look at why the death of Sinwar is a chance to reopen the door to the brief era of regional cooperation that was being celebrated before October 7th, particul...
Oct 22, 2024•10 min•Ep. 1093
Migration was - once again - at the heart of discussions at the latest EU leaders summit, as the issue has been taking on new dimensions across the continent. This renewed focus on migration comes after the far-right made gains in the European Parliament, in various elections in Germany and Austria, and follows the opening of Italy’s controversial offshore detention centers in Albania. Angeliki Dimitriadi, a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Migration Program at the Hellenic Foundation for ...
Oct 21, 2024•13 min•Ep. 1092
