Inertia has been a key feature of the Greek state for many decades. It is not just the result of laziness; it is also deliberate and calculated.

Greece and Turkey told German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Tuesday that they did not want to settle their dispute over the eastern Mediterranean with military means, the minister said, saying there was a readiness for dialogue.

Turkey’s foreign minister said on Tuesday Greece must abandon its “maximalist approach” and pre-conditions for dialogue to begin over disputed offshore Mediterranean resources, adding Ankara expects the EU to act as an “honest and objective” mediator.

Turkey warned Greece on Tuesday not to escalate tensions in the eastern Mediterranean or it will not hesitate to do “what is necessary,” though it said it wanted to solve the issue through dialogue and diplomacy.

Citizens’ Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis on Tuesday thanked Austria for helping Greece secure its border with Turkey which tens of thousands of migrants and refugees tried for days to breach in March.

There were many who resented Margaret Thatcher when she said, “There is no such thing as society” – not that they would not resent her if she didn’t. Even today, many politicians (without belonging to the left) repeat the buzzword with a grimace of abhorrence for its quasi-social neoliberalism.

Erdogan’s Turkey is in a state of overstretch, both at home – a trend manifested in the spike in borrowing costs and the decline of the Turkish lira – and abroad.

The Alexandroupoli liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal will be a “source of wealth” for the countries of the region and turn the city port into a “global energy hub,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday during a signing ceremony in Athens approving the participation of Bulgaria’s gas transportation company, Bulgartransgaz, in the project.

James Baldwin’s much quoted reference to “the fire next time” alerts us to risks we would prefer not to contemplate. It is also a warning against complacency. Over the last few years, there has been no shortage of analyses pointing to the mounting risks in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is meeting with the expert committee advising the government on coronavirus at Maximos Mansion on Monday to review safety restrictions and discuss possible additional measures amid a spike in Covid-19 cases.

The debate has already begun on what a Joe Biden administration will mean for Greek interests. Everything points to an electoral loss for US President Donald Trump but no one should underestimate him.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will announce measures to support citizens who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic on September 12-13 when he will be in Thessaloniki, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Saturday.

When Greece receives the Covid-19 vaccine, all Greeks will be able to be inoculated for free, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Friday, adding that pupils and teachers will also get free masks when schools reopen next week.

With the virtual Democratic National Convention over, the US presidential election is in its final stretch. This is an election like no other: Because of the pandemic, most of the campaigning is on the internet; because of Donald Trump, what is at stake is not only who will win but the very survival of democracy in America.

The agreements signed by Greece with Italy first and then Egypt, for the delimitation of the countries’ respective exclusive economic zones, were submitted to Parliament Thursday, where they are expected to be ratified on Wednesday, August 26. 

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou visited a new health center that was inaugurated next to the Moria migrant reception facility on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos Thursday. Sakellaropoulou, who was accompanied by Migration Policy Minister Notis Mitarakis, visited a facility for unaccompanied minors adjoined to the Moria camp and the Kara Tepe facility, which also hosts asylum seekers on the island. Earlier in the day protesters objecting to the inauguration of the health center clashed with police during a protest that resulted in the injury of the local police chief. Mitarakis, who met with residents earlier in the day, said the upheaval was provoked by a group of 30 or 40 youths. [ANA-MPA]

France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that Europe must protect its members’ sovereignty in the Eastern Mediterranean when it is cast into doubt.

On August 11, former vice president Joe Biden announced California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. During the last weeks of the presidential campaign, both they and incumbent Donald Trump will seek to define the narrative surrounding their leadership.

The Greek Parliament will start debating on Monday (Aug. 24) the ratification of the country’s recent maritime border deals with Italy and Egypt, government spokesman Stelios Petsas told a regular press briefing on Thursday.

The leaders of the European Union expressed their solidarity with Greece and Cyprus during an extraordinary summit on Wednesday, at the same time stressing the need to resolve their differences with Turkey through dialogue.