[Nikos Mitrusias/ Intime News]
The US Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, arrived in Athens on Wednesday for meetings highlighting Greece’s growing strategic value to American forces amid the ongoing conflict in Iran and the Middle East.
Whitaker, accompanied by US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, met with the chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff Dimitris Houpis and senior defense officials. He is also scheduled to visit Souda Bay naval base in Crete and Alexandroupoli, where he will meet Defense Minister Nikos Dendias.
Greek facilities have seen significantly increased American activity since February 28, with Souda Bay servicing aircraft carriers and destroyers, while KC-135 tanker aircraft have conducted frequent operations from the nearby Akrotiri Air Base. The carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has also returned to Souda for damage repairs, with Greece agreeing to provide accommodations for its crew.
Greece appears exempt from broader US efforts to reduce its European military footprint, given the strategic importance of Souda Bay, Alexandroupoli, and Larissa to American operations across the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East-North Africa region.
Athens has also repositioned three Patriot missile batteries – at Souda Bay, Karpathos, and northern Greece – covering allied nations including Bulgaria and Turkey.
The visit comes amid sharp transatlantic tensions over the Iran war, with Greece seeking to distinguish itself from larger Western European nations regarding support to the US.