US signs military cooperation agreement with Greece. In accordance with it, the American military presence in this country will only grow., as well as the United States will increase the supply of various weapons to Greece. Meanwhile, there is every reason to believe, that the signing of the agreement was a direct consequence of the deterioration of US relations with Turkey.
US military policy in the Eastern Mediterranean
For a long time, Turkey was the most important military partner of the United States in the Eastern Mediterranean.. This country has a large population, powerful and efficient armed forces, and most importantly - a very advantageous geographical position at the junction of Europe and Asia. Turkey is control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles, Black Sea coast, access to Transcaucasia and the Middle East.
But the deterioration of US-Turkish relations, especially pronounced after Ankara's purchase of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia, forced the Americans to look for new key allies in the region. Most countries in the Balkans are weak and ill-suited for this role.. Exception - Greece, which already had the second army after Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Like Turkey, Greece - NATO member. And now the American leadership has staked on Greece, Considering, that this country has very difficult relations with neighboring Turkey. Arming Athens as a counterweight and edification to Ankara is one of the sophisticated US plans. After all, it is known, that relations between Turkey and Greece, who seem to be allies in the North Atlantic Alliance, in fact, more than once put the two countries on the brink of war. One of the main stumbling blocks is Cyprus, where the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus operates, supported and supplied by Ankara.
Of course, Greece itself is very interested in American patronage and in the supply of weapons, and precisely because of relations with Turkey, which, although formally an ally, but in fact - the most likely adversary. The Greeks do not particularly hide, that they are arming precisely against Turkey. In Washington,, in its turn, happy to play on the contradictions of neighboring states, taking advantage of them and, eventually, still in a winning position.
In April 2019 Senators Robert Menendez and Mark Rubio introduced the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Cooperation Bill, which focuses on the development of military cooperation with Greece and even proposes to lift the existing ban on the supply of weapons to Cyprus, which is the "outpost" of Greece in the confrontation with Turkey.
Financing of joint military programs, expanding military presence in Greece, arms supplies - everything has a place in the bill. The only thing, with which Greece and Cyprus did not agree - with a ban on the visits of Russian warships to Greek and Cypriot ports, but here the Americans have already "touched the nerve", since Greece and Cyprus have always had a special relationship with Russia - it happened historically.
American military presence in Greece
One of the key moments in the development of military cooperation with Greece is the presence of American troops on its territory.. The Greek government welcomes the expansion of this presence, because it's understandable, that Turkey will never dare to take aggressive actions against Greece, as long as American troops are stationed on its territory, host US military bases.
Currently, several major US military installations operate on the territory of the country.. The first is a naval base in Souda Bay on the northwest coast of Crete.. It was opened in 1951 year and is the only supply point for the US Navy in the Eastern Mediterranean. The base can simultaneously host up to 30 warships, repair.
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Another important facility is Araxos Airport in the Peloponnese., which is used by US military aviation. Greece also gave permission for the deployment of American F-35 aircraft in the city of Volos., for the use of the Larissa airfield for refueling American aircraft and accommodating tanker aircraft. American F-22 Raptor transferred to Larissa, as well as MQ-9 Reaper drones.
The port of Alexandroupolis is also used for US military needs., through which the transfer of American helicopters to military bases in Eastern Europe is carried out. On the island of Karpathos, the Americans plan to deploy Patriot missile defense systems. The importance of the island has increased many times for the Pentagon after problems in relations with Turkey: as is known, Americans withdraw their forces from the famous Incirlik base in Turkey.
Greek military bases are very interesting for the US for several reasons.. At first, they are located quite close to the Black Sea region, although Greece, unlike Turkey, Romania or Bulgaria and does not have access to the Black Sea. But now, in the context of events in Ukraine and the reunification of Crimea with Russia, The United States cherishes any opportunity to indicate its presence near the Black Sea region.
Secondly, Greek bases allow you to control the situation in the Balkans. Very close to problematic Kosovo, unreliable Serbia, new NATO members Montenegro and North Macedonia. And this moment is also very important for the American military leadership..
Thirdly, Greece may well replace Turkey to control the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean. So, numerous Greek ports and naval bases are actively used by American warships. The Greek Islands are excellent points of control over the situation in this region., to collect intelligence information about the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Fourth, the deterioration of relations with Turkey and the deployment of Russian S-400s by Ankara are forcing the United States to give a symmetrical response and begin to strengthen Greece as a natural counterbalance to Turkey in the region. The further Turkey distances itself from the US, the more Washington will develop contacts and ties with Greece, the more actively it will propose to the Greek government to deploy American military bases and troops on its territory.
There is another very important circumstance. Greece is an Orthodox country, having developed ties with Russia. The Greek public is generally inclined towards Russia rather positively., although not so, like Serbian. Anti-American sentiment in Greece is quite common, a significant part of the population sympathizes with leftist forces and nationalists, who are very negative about cooperation with the United States and call for the withdrawal of American troops and the development of ties with Russia.
As for Cyprus, then he is very connected with Russia and financially. Get out of the orbit of American influence Athens, of course not yet able, but it's better to "keep your finger on the pulse", talking in Washington. Anyway, the American leadership views Greece as a country, in need of some control, and the military presence of American troops is one of the important components of this control.
Greece and arms supplies
Unlike Turkey, the purchase of which the S-400 caused a real hysteria in Washington, Greece has been quietly acquiring Russian weapons for quite some time.. So, also in 1998 Greek Ministry of Defense announced a tender for the supply of anti-aircraft missile systems. Rosvooruzhenie and the American corporation Raytheon entered the fight for the Greek market. Finally, Greece opted for American anti-aircraft missile systems Raytheon Patriot.
However, 2007 year, S-300 air defense systems were deployed in Greece. They were handed over to Greece by neighboring Cyprus, and all because, US, Great Britain and Turkey have imposed a restriction on the use of two divisions of S-300 PMU-1 by the island state, acquired from Russia by Cyprus back in 1996 year.
S-300 showed high efficiency at military exercises, pleasing the Greek generals. This also contributed to the conviction of Athens in the desirability of further military-technical cooperation with the Russian Federation in the field of maintenance of anti-aircraft missile systems..
by the way, S-300 is not the only Russian weapon in Greece. The Greek Armed Forces have anti-tank missile systems "Kornet-E" and "Fagot", military anti-aircraft missile systems "Osa", purchased landing hovercraft "Zubr". And the military-technical cooperation of our states does not end there., since certain documents have been signed between the countries, confirming the existence of a strategic course for the further development of cooperation in the military-technical sphere.
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American leadership, knowing, that Greece is not Turkey and it is much easier to push it away from you into the “embraces” of Russia, prefers not to interfere much in the military-technical cooperation between Athens and Moscow. It is much more profitable for the Greeks themselves to maneuver between Moscow and Washington, receiving bonuses from cooperation with Russia, and with the USA. And they succeed quite well., Considering, that Greece maintains good relations with both great powers.
Therefore, the expansion of military cooperation with the United States, likely, will have certain limits: no matter how tight the ties between Athens and Washington are within the framework of the North Atlantic Alliance and separately from NATO projects, but the Greek government is not ready to completely refuse profitable military-technical cooperation with Russia. Yes, and the pro-Russian lobby, active in Greece, won't allow it.
It is worth noting the fact, as the costs of the Greek side for the maintenance of American bases. Now the Donald Trump administration is actively pushing the idea that, that the states themselves should pay for the presence of American troops in foreign states, host US military.
Greece in this sense is unlikely to be an exception to the general rule.. Therefore, Athens should have thought, Is it really necessary to build up the American military presence?, even in the presence of the "Turkish threat", or you can get by with further arming of your own army and navy. After all, the financial situation of Greece is far from being the best, and the expenditure of budgetary funds for the maintenance of the US military will be critically perceived by a very significant part of the Greek population..
clear, that after the sad story with Turkey, the United States will do its best to retain at least one “standing” Mediterranean country. But here much depends on, what political forces are in power in Greece at the moment.
If politicians loyal to Russia come to power in the country, the Americans may begin to have certain problems with the placement of their bases. However, Divide and Conquer strategy will work in this case too, since nothing will prevent Washington from “forgiving” Ankara in the same way and refocusing again on cooperation with Turkey.
Ilya Polonsky
