Mike Pompeo begins European tour to defuse tensions in the eastern Mediterranean
The international agenda is always tight and the pandemic has not interrupted either conflicts or high-level diplomatic summits. As Europe begins to glimpse the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic, the head of US diplomacy, Mike Pompeo, arrives in the Old Continent with the aim of calming tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. The first stop on this small European tour is the Greek city of Thessaloniki, which Pompeo will visit this Monday to meet his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias.
Following this first contact, a visit to Crete has been scheduled for Tuesday for a bilateral meeting between Pompeo and the island's Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and a visit to the NATO naval base in the Bay of Souda, according to the US Foreign Ministry's press services.
Tensions between Athens and Ankara have heightened in recent weeks over the dispute concerning oil-rich maritime areas in the Mediterranean. This summer Turkey has sent prospecting ships to territories claimed with Greece, and Greece has responded with military exercises. Military aircraft and manoeuvres have been deployed in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean, exemplifying the disagreements over the negotiating table between Cyprus, Greece and Turkey. The crossover of mutual accusations is also an example of the escalation that has taken place during the summer months. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, even warned Emmanuel Macron, the president of France and a strong defender of Greece and its interests in the Mediterranean, not to "mess with Turkey" and pointed out that France was responsible for the death of one million Algerians.
In view of these inflammatory statements and the military escalation, the United States considers it necessary to resume dialogue, particularly between nations that are members of a military organisation, NATO, sponsored by the United States. Washington fears an incident that could trigger an even greater conflict and has called for the avoidance of unilateral measures that could heighten tensions, urging Greece and Turkey to reach an agreement, according to the declarations of a high-ranking US official taking part in the European tour in a conversation with journalists this Sunday.
The visit to Thessaloniki is also a way of getting closer to the Balkan region, in which the United States has a great interest, according to the US Department of State. After this stop in the Balkans, Pompeo will travel on Wednesday and Thursday to Rome to meet with the Italian authorities and particularly to recall the efforts of Donald Trump's government to dissuade its European allies from accepting the Chinese Huawei group in the development of their ultra-fast 5G mobile phone networks.
Mike Pompeo will also participate in a meeting on religious freedom at the Vatican organised by the US embassy to the Holy See. Pompeo will speak out during this meeting against China's brutality towards minorities, including those who profess Islam. The last stop on the tour will be Dubrovnik, in Croatia, next Friday.