Blinken to MEGA on Greek-Turkish relations; Russian invasion of Ukraine, possible Chinese involvement

Visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat down for an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Athens-based Mega Channel on Tuesday, on the second day of his official visit to Greece and high-level contacts with Greek leadership.

Blinken arrived in Athens a day earlier from Ankara and a closely watched meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Earlier, America’s top diplomat toured a quake-devastated site in southeast Turkey, accompanied by his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

He specifically cited Greece’s immediate assistance towards the neighboring country, and expressed a hope that both NATO member retain normal relations, something is also important for Washington, as he said, given that the former are close US allies.

Along those lines, he expressed a view that Turkish leadership is now wants to move towards a de-escalation of tension with Greece. At the same time, however, he avoided commenting vis-à-vis any State Department practice of keeping “equal distances” when involving Greek- Turkish relations.

He also fielded questions on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and, Washington’s relations around the world, in general.