Last Saturday, as we mentioned in a previous post, Greeks across the country and around the world celebrated Epiphany with the traditional ceremony of the Blessing of the Waters. In Chania, the ceremony was performed in the Venetian harbour by Damaskinos, Metropolitan of Kydonia and Apokoronas, and was attended by the Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who had a rendezvous with the US Secretary of State later in the day.

Addressing the media on a packed quayside in the Venetian harbour, the Prime Minister said:

. “On this bright and sunlit day the light of Epiphany sends a strong message of hope and progress. And as we stand at the start of 2024 we have the right to contemplate the future with more optimism, with more self-confidence.

“Obviously there is no lack of difficulties: from the major geopolitical crises in our neighbourhood to imported inflation. We will always be in the front line in dealing with them. At the same time we will continue to fight for a better daily life for all Greeks. With a fast-developing economy which is creating well-paid jobs, with high-quality public education, good health for all Greeks, with greater security in all the neighbourhoods of our homeland.

“At the same time we are always on the alert for seasonal problems, for seasonal crises such as the upsurge of flu and the coronavirus. For this reason we get vaccinated and take measures to protect ourselves. Most of all we protect the weakest and most vulnerable of our citizens.

“Once more from sunny Chania, I want to send to every Greek wherever they are on the globe best wishes for Epiphany and for the New Year, with health and happiness to you and your loved ones.”
(Haniotika Nea)

Meeting with the US Secretary of State
On Saturday afternoon, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a lightning stop in Chania as part of a tour of the Middle East, the fourth such visit in three months, aimed at avoiding an expansion of the war in Gaza and in securing the help of the neighbouring nations in ensuring a flow of humanitarian aid, at the very least reducing the scale of civilian casualties, and exploring the possibilities for a future organisation of a Palestinian state.

Shortly after 5.00 pm Mr Blinken’s plane touched down at the US’s Naval Support Facility (NSA) Souda, which shares facilities with the 115^th Fighter Wing of the Hellenic Air Force and Chania International civilian airport. He was welcomed by the Foreign minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and the US Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis. After exchanging greetings with the commanding officer of NSA Souda, Odin Klug, the three men, together with members of the US diplomatic team, boarded a motorcade of black SUVs and headed for the Prime Minister’s residence, which overlooks Souda Bay on Akrotiri,

It was the second stop on Mr Blinken’s Middle East tour, which according to a State Department press release was to take in “Istanbul, Türkiye; Crete, Greece; Amman, Jordan; Doha, Qatar; Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates; Al ‘Ula, Saudi Arabia; Tel Aviv, Israel; the West Bank; Manama, Bahrain; and Cairo, Egypt from January 4-11, 2024.” It was also the second visit by a US Secretary of State to the Mitsotakis residence, Mr Blinken’s predecessor Mike Pompeo having stayed at the house in September 2020 with his wife Susan.

Mr Blinken arrived at the Prime Minister’s residence at 6.00 pm, under strict security measures, and Mr Mitsotakis was waiting at the door to greet him. After exchanging warm greetings the two men went inside, followed shortly by the US Ambassador and Mr Gerapetritis, who were practically mown down by the press of journalists hurrying to get shots of the two men coming up the path to the house. As he emerged from the SUV carrying the Secretary of State, Mr Tsunis found time to address the waiting reporters: “You have very good antikristo here!” he said – referring the to the traditional Cretan dish of meats roasted on a circular iron frame around a wood fire.

Once inside the house, Mr Blinken and Mr Mitsotakis had a brief dialogue in front of the cameras for the benefit of the press, who were excluded from the meeting itself. The Prime Minister began by welcoming the US Secretary of State:

“Well, Mr. Secretary, it’s a real – it’s a real pleasure to welcome you to our house in Souda Bay,” he said, “and I can’t really think of a place that better symbolises the depth of our strategic partnership than this place here on the island of Crete, and I am very happy to welcome you at a time where I honestly feel that our bilateral relationship is probably at the best it has ever been.

“These are difficult and challenging times for the region, and it is incredibly important for us to stand by side by side, not just to work to further strengthen the relationship but also to act as Allies and to ensure that peace and stability returns to our troubled region. So again, it’s a real pleasure to welcome you here.”

Mr Blinken’s reply was equally effusive:

“Well, Prime Minister, I have to tell you I’m really honoured both on a professional but also personal level to be welcomed here to your home. I have a lot of Greek friends back in the United States; I know what it means to actually welcome someone to your home. And it means a lot, so thank you for that.

“And I also have to agree strongly with you about the relationship between our countries. I’ve been doing this now for 30 years, and I can’t – I was saying to our ambassador, to our wonderful ambassador George Tsunis, that I don’t remember a time when the relationship, the partnership, the friendship between the United States and Greece was stronger. And of course, it goes to the affinity between our people, but it also goes to leadership, and in particular your leadership. We’re grateful for that.

“We are standing together facing some of the most acute challenges that we’ve seen. But the fact that we’re standing together, that we’re working together, whether it’s in defence of Ukraine, whether it’s for peace and stability in the Mediterranean, whether it’s dealing with the situation in the Middle East, Gaza, and so many other ways, that’s a tremendous source of strength and reassurance for the United States.

“So I know we have a lot to talk about, and really that’s why I’m here. Your voice, your views, your counsel, your partnership mean a lot to the United States. Thank you.”

There followed a working meeting which was attended, on the American side by Mr Blinken and Mr Tsunis and US diplomatic staff, and on the Greek side by the Prime Minister, the Foreign minister George Gerapetritis, deputy Foreign minister Alexandra Papadopoulou, the director of the Prime Minister’s Diplomatic Office Anna Maria Boura, and advisor to the Prime Minister for Global Affairs and Strategic Communications Aristotelia Peloni.

According to an announcement on the Prime Minister’s website, primeminister.gr, “the two sides reviewed the whole spectrum of Greek-American relations. It was confirmed that, in the context of the excellent level of these relations, there will be further positive steps in the field of defence cooperation in the coming period.” – an oblique reference to Greece’s acquisition of F-35 fighter jets which is also reported to have been discussed, with key advancements in the purchase agreement expected by February.

Mr Mitsotakis, according to the announcement, expressed his growing concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the risks of an escalation of the crisis. He also reiterated the need for an unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and stressed that the solution can only be political, based on a two-state solution in accordance with UN resolutions. The Prime Minister and the US Secretary of State also exchanged views on developments in Ukraine, with Mr Blinken expressing his gratitude for the support that Greece has provided to Ukraine from the very beginning.

The meeting lasted an hour and 20 minutes overall, after which Mr Blinken left once more for NSA Souda air base to continue his journey on to Amman. Before leaving he made a short statement and took questions from the press on the tarmac. Referring to his visit to Istanbul where he had met President Erdogan and Foreign minister Hakan Fidan before coming to Crete, he said:

“…We had, I think, a very productive day of meetings both in Türkiye and here in Greece with both our Turkish and Greek Allies and partners. We talked about our NATO Alliance, the tremendous solidarity that we have and continue to have in supporting Ukraine against the Russian aggression. We talked a little about steps to prepare for the NATO Summit that will take place in Washington early this summer. And we also focused on what both countries have done through the leadership of President Erdogan and Prime Minister Mitsotakis to bring Greece and Türkiye closer together, including the summit meeting that both leaders had just last month.”

“We’re now heading back to the Middle East. This is the fourth time since October 7th that I’ll be in the region, and we’ll be there at what remains an incredibly difficult time for the region in the wake of the October 7th attack on Israel.”

Mr Blinken outlined three issues on which he expected to focus in his coming visits:

“As we’ve said from day one, we have an intense focus on preventing this conflict from spreading, and a big part of the conversations we’ll be having over the coming days with all of our allies and partners is looking at the steps that they can take, using the influence and ties that they have to do just that, to make sure that this conflict doesn’t spread…

“Second, we’ll be looking at what we can do to maximise the protection for civilians, maximise humanitarian assistance getting in to them, and also to get hostages out of Gaza…

“Third, we will focus on the steps that remain to make sure that October 7th never happens again and that we get on a path to a sustainable, peaceful, secure future for everyone…”

The discussions would not necessarily be easy, he said, as there are “different perspectives, different needs, different requirements”. But, he continued:

“It is vital that we engage in this diplomacy now both for the sake of the future of Gaza itself, and more broadly for the sake of the future for Israelis and Palestinians and for the region as a whole. There is clearly a strong desire among the majority of people in the region for a future that is one of peace, of security, of de-escalation of conflicts, of integration of countries, and that’s one path. That’s one future. The other future is an endless cycle of violence, a repetition of the horrific events that we’ve seen, and lives of insecurity and conflict for people in the region, which is what virtually no one wants.”

Local reactions
Mr Blinken’s visit provoked a familiar reaction from local sources, with the KKE issuing a statement:

“Against the background of the developing genocide of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government, the visible dangers of a generalisation of the conflict to the whole of the Middle East, the slaughter in Ukraine and the NATO plans being furthered in Graeco-Turkish relations, the meeting between Mitsotakis and Blinken is aimed at deepening Greece’s involvement in the dangerous plans and interventions of the US-NATO in the region…”

“What is now required is to strengthen our people’s vigilance and its opposition to these plans, to intensify the struggle to return the armed forces which are outside the country, for there to be no new expeditions, to close the US-NATO bases, for the Greek soil to cease being used as an operational base for the benefit of other peoples.”

Earlier on Saturday afternoon, there was an anti-war demonstration in front of the Municipal Agora in Chania.
(Haniotika Nea)