Seven months since Donald Trump took office as the 47th President of the United States, it has taken seven months for his administration’s strategy towards Greece and the wider Southeastern Mediterranean region to crystallize, and to be publicly articulated.

The occasion for the new Trump administration to put its cards on the table was yesterday’s US Senate hearing of Kimberly Gilfoil for the position of her country’s ambassador to Greece. Having studied the areas of Greek-American cooperation, as well as conveying the new U.S. administration’s stance on bilateral relations, Ms. Gilfoil praised Greece’s role in capturing and consolidating democracy, referred to the country’s credibility as a steady ally inside and outside NATO, while revealing new investment projects that the Trump administration appears to be promoting in the region.

From the opening moments of her statement, however, Ms. Guilfoyle singled out the trifecta: Defense, Energy, Reliability, describing Greece as a “pillar of stability” in the region. Speaking in a personal tone, the new Ambassador pledged to contribute to further modernization of Greece’s defense capabilities, said she was confident that Athens would meet the 5% of GDP target for NATO spending, and asserted that Greece comes fifth in terms of the annual cost of its defense spending globally.

In this context, Ms Gilfoyle listed as important purchases of US defence equipment by the Greek Armed Forces, such as F-35 fighters, Apache and Blackhawk helicopters, as well as modern ships, and highlighted the importance of the joint Constellation frigate co-production project, which strengthens US-Greece industrial cooperation. “If confirmed, it will be my priority to further accelerate the modernization of Greek defense,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Gilfoyle outlined a new energy treaty that would provide for the “possibility of exporting more U.S. energy to Greece and Europe,” she explained, focusing on the LNG terminal at Revythoussa and the FSRU floating plant in Alexandroupolis, which facilitate exports of U.S. natural gas to Europe. He noted that the US already covers 20% of the natural gas market in Greece, up from just 2% five years ago.

New pipeline in Trump’s plans

In fact, Ms Gilfoil made known the White House’s intention to move forward with the “All Corridor“, a new US-owned natural gas pipeline that would limit the specific market for China and Russia. “If you confirm my nomination, I will work with Greece to commercialize investments in key natural gas pipelines, such as the so-called ‘Vertical Corridor’ connecting Greece with Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Central Europe,” she said of the new “hub of U.S.-owned natural gas in the region”, stressing the importance of Greece’s electrical interconnections with Cyprus, Israel and Egypt, which enhance regional energy security.

“Key point” Greece

In addition, Ms Gilfoil described Greece as a “key point” for the wider region, while she paid particular attention to the country’s credibility as a US ally, an attitude that should be rewarded, she said, as a sign of steadfast and loyal commitment. At the same time, she highlighted the issues of respect for religious freedom, “pointing” in a nod to Turkey, which she criticized over the S-400 and the F-35.

He said, “Turkey has chosen to go forward with Russia on S-400 missile systems, and this raises serious questions of alignment with NATO strategy,” adding that “our allies must coordinate with the needs of the Alliance,” while referring to the possibility of Turkey rejoining the F-35 fighter program, Kimberly Guilfoyle commented that the neighboring country has been excluded because of its own choices.

Struggle in her career

In fact, yesterday’s Senate hearing of Kimberly Gilfoil represents her first, public appearance as a US government official, i.e., a power broker in the Trump administration, marking her transition from the role of intra-party supporter to taking on the duties of US Ambassador. In this light, “to be nominated for Greece, the birthplace of democracy, is a profound honor,” Guilfoyle said, thanking President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their confidence in her nomination.

In the presence of her son, and the grandson of US President Donald Trump III, Mrs. Gilfoyle
reflected on her personal journey, spoke of her parents – her Puerto Rican mother, a special education teacher, and her father, an immigrant from Ireland – and emphasized her obligation to carry on the values they passed on to her. She described her candidacy for the embassy in Greece as a “unique honour”, stressing that Greece, the birthplace of democracy, embodies the fundamental principles of freedom, self-government and the rule of law. “These values resonate through the centuries and inspired the founders of the American nation,”
he noted.

The “father” of the F-35 shutdown

Of particular value at yesterday’s Senate hearing was what was said about the F-35 program, as “I am the one who put the F-35 on pause. And I will continue to maintain that pause for many different reasons,” a US senator said, before Ms Gilfoyle. Making a reference to the Greek-Turkish differences, the chairman argued that these differences do not get the prominence they should in the US media. On this point, he noted that “the Greeks have rightly been asking for our help for a long time on many of these (issues),” asking to hear Gilfoil’s views on the issues in question.

He also did not fail to offer advice to the proposed ambassador, saying: “Your predecessor, Giorgos Tsounis, who is here, and our ambassador to Turkey had a very close relationship. I spoke with them often and they were very good at sorting out issues. So I would urge you to develop the same kind of contact with our ambassador to Turkey.”

Finally, Senator Jim Reese expressed his outrage over Turkey’s stance on the issue of Sweden and Finland joining NATO. “I fought with them. I led the effort to bring Sweden and Finland into NATO. It was incredibly frustrating. Turkey was using its power, because everything has to happen unanimously in NATO, to keep those two countries out. It was a big issue,” he said.