An unexpected and eyebrow-raising proposal by the Greek defense minister, speaking next to his US counterpart on Tuesday at the Pentagon in Washington no less, of an alternative plan in case the Prespa Agreement fizzles out generated a firestorm of political reaction and even a hasty response by his own coalition government.
The controversial minister, Panos Kammenos, again expressed his and his small-right-wing party’s standing opposition to the agreement, and following US Secretary James Mattis’ praise of the deal. He then proposed a new alliance in the Balkans based on bilateral agreements in the field defense and security. The statement, along with proposing to the US side that it increase its military presence in the east Mediterranean country, generated the opposition outcry and an “unofficial” reaction by the mostly leftist government that he continues to back as the junior coalition party leader.
“The Greek government remains devoted to the Prespa Agreement,” was the statement conveyed by government sources, following Kammenos’ off-the-cuff remarks. The provisional June 2018 agreement between Athens and Skopje would finally resolve the fYRoM “name issue”, with the highlight being that the one-time Yugoslav constituent state would be renamed “Republic of North Macedonia”.
In a far more derisive reaction, a main opposition New Democracy (ND) sector head for foreign affairs asked “who’s exercising foreign policy in this country?”
ND deputy Giorgos Koumoutsakos said Kammenos’ “proposal” for a new Balkan alliance, ostensibly to counter Russian meddling in the region, ” …comes at a moment when government officials are stressing their conviction that the agreement (Prespa) will be ratified by Greece’s Parliament, and at the same time preparing for an official visit by Mr. Tsipras (the Greek premier) to Moscow.”
Long-time PASOK deputy and former minister Andreas Loverdos asked “who authorized Mr. Kammenos to negotiate over new US bases (in Greece)? … Mr. Kammenos made two proposals: for the Americans to establish three bases in (mainland) Greece and for the Prespa agreement to be bypassed.”
In footage from his brief meeting with Mattis, the controversial Greek minister mentioned by name three possible sites for new US bases, ones near the central Greece cities of Larissa and Volos, as well as Alexandroupolis in the extreme northeast.
