US President Donald Trump’s newly announced Board of Peace has unsettled Athens, as the Greek government seeks to strike a delicate balance: aligning with the EU to safeguard its interests in the eastern Mediterranean against Turkey, while cultivating closer ties with Washington.
Trump’s announcement has fuelled concerns in Athens that the United Nations and international law – the cornerstones of Greek foreign policy – could be sidelined or weakened. Greece, along with 24 other EU member states, will stay out of the Peace Board, while neighbouring Turkey will take part.
Initially conceived as a mechanism to address the Middle East crisis, the Board took on broader significance when Trump unveiled it at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, signalling it could become a permanent body. That prospect has raised concerns in European capitals that it could marginalise the UN.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last week that the Peace Board should be confined to Gaza, signalling concern that unresolved disputes in Greece’s neighbourhood could otherwise fall under its remit.
Turkey and Libya have long-standing disputes with Greece and Cyprus over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean. While Greece has ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and routinely invokes it in response to Ankara’s claims, Turkey is not a signatory.
This political standoff has for years hindered efforts to exploit the Mediterranean’s untapped natural gas and oil reserves.
Trump’s business-driven approach could nevertheless open the door to a political settlement in the region – a development that, according to George Tzogopoulos, a senior fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), is only a matter of time.
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“It remains unclear whether the pretext will be the so-called Peace Board with expanded powers or direct US mediation,” he told Euractiv. “But it will certainly be framed in a way that fits Trump’s business-oriented logic.”
If US engagement in the region intensifies, Tzogopoulos added, Ankara is likely to favour a model in which regional actors “resolve matters among ourselves, with Trump’s America acting as mediator”, effectively sidelining the UN.
One sign of Washington’s growing role is that, under Trump’s second term, US energy majors Chevron and ExxonMobil have struck deals with all key regional players – Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Libya.
Greek and Turkish officials met in Athens last week to discuss the positive agenda, aiming to manage tensions and identify areas for cooperation. The leaders of the countries are expected to meet on 12 February.
A balancing act?
There is no indication that relations between Mitsotakis and Trump have deteriorated, although the two leaders have yet to meet. By contrast, Trump met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in September.
Mitsotakis’ call to limit the scope of the Peace Board has drawn criticism from Greece’s main opposition. By trying to accommodate Washington while avoiding a break with European partners, the prime minister is engaging in “dangerous balancing acts that undermine the long-standing positions of Greek foreign policy”, socialist MEP Giannis Maniatis told Euractiv.
Maniatis, a former energy minister, said that, given Cyprus’ ongoing occupation and Turkey’s repeated challenges to sovereign rights, any initiative that undermines international legality must be firmly opposed by Athens.
Greece should instead take the lead in strengthening European defence and security cooperation to jointly face upcoming challenges, he added.
The opposition has also accused the ruling conservative New Democracy government of adopting the logic of the ‘given ally’ towards Washington. Critics often point to the US military base at Souda Bay in Crete – crucial for US power projection in the Middle East – whose mandate was previously renewed annually but was made indefinite under Mitsotakis.
A diplomatic source in Athens said Greece was aligned with other European partners who view the initiative as problematic and potentially overriding international law. Brussels has consistently backed Greece and Cyprus, with international law as the cornerstone of its position, and will seek to engage Washington to limit the Peace Board’s scope, the source added.
“One must also consider who is participating,” the diplomat said. While Hungary’s involvement was expected, Bulgaria’s decision surprised Brussels, given that the country is currently run by a caretaker administration.
“Someone in Sofia is clearly trying to score points in Washington,” the diplomat added.
The article was updated with precisions on a potential Greek-Turkey meeting.
(cs, mk)