Editorial Ta Nea: The need for stability

Looking back on the difficult year that is coming to an end, one of the few bright moments was the decision of the American people to choose another leader for their country.

Th adventure that began in 2016 when Donald Trump was elected president instead of Hillary Clinton will formally end in three weeks.

The new page on the other side of the Atlantic can change the situation that exists right now in the Eastern Mediterranean.

During Mr. Trump’s term in office the US gradually lost the position that it held on the global map.

In the case of Turkey, the exceptionally good personal relationship between the outgoing president and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, gave Ankara great leeway in charting its geopolitical moves and permitted Turkey to harrass other NATO member-states and to violate the rules of good neighbourly relations.

The US rarely intervened and then only when pressured by circumstances.

Greece needs the expected American comeback on the international stage.

It needs the US to be serious and predictable, to protect its interests while not neglecting its allies.

In one way or another American intervention can protect the status quo in the Eastern Mediterranean and effectively prod Greece and Turkey to return to the negotiating table on an equal footing, in line with Athens’ longstanding objective of reaching an equitable understanding with Turkey.

If we have learned anything from the events of the last decade it is that a stable situation that has been built over many years can collapse overnight.

America’s return to its rightful role on the international chessboard will not occur overnight.

Yet it has already taken the first step.