Donald Trump’s message to Greece: USA will INVEST in debt-ridden nation to save it from EU

A few points:

• Trump is potentially building a deterrent against Turkish aggression.
• Trump is hedging against the EU superstate that’s increasingly becoming anti-American through the Berlin-Paris-Brussels axis that has subjugated and destroyed Greece.
• Trump is possibly racing against China’s infrastructure investments and Port of Pirus takeover, keeping them from gaining a foothold in one of Europe’s most important strategic gateways.

 

Donald Trump and Alexis Tsipras shake hands outside the White House

 

DONALD Trump praised Greece’s economic recovery and vowed to invest in the debt-ridden nation as he met the country’s prime minister who once called the businessman “evil” before the US election.

The US President pledged to help the Mediterreanean nation back to prosperity after its struggles with EU austerity over the last 8 years.

The two leaders met at the White House for cordial talks and among the topics for discussion were investments in Greek oil resources and Greece-based military bases as the relationship between the USA and Turkey becomes tense.

US warships may join EU in patrolling waters off Libya

American warships may join European Union vessels off the coast of Libya by the summer in a Nato-led attempt to slow the flow of refugees from Africa into Europe, it emerged at a meeting of the G5 world leaders in Hanover.

Until now, the EU, through Operation Sophia, has been entirely responsible for policing the international waters off Libya and Nato has been patrolling the much narrower Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece.

World Economic Forum chairman predicts 1 billion refugees

(TRUNEWS) The executive chairman of the World Economic Forum is predicting mass migration of 1 billion refugees moving north into Europe, if the slide in commodities continues.

Klaus Schwab made the comments during an interview ahead of the Davos meeting, according to Bloomberg.

Worried depositors rush to pull cash out of Greek banks

In the midst of the dramatic showdown in Brussels between the new Greek government and its European creditors, many Greek depositors—spooked by the prospect of a Greek default or, worse, an exit from the euro zone and a possible return to the drachma—have been pulling euros out of the nation’s banks in record amounts over the last few days.

The Bank of Greece and the European Central Bank won’t report official cash outflows for January until the end of the month. But sources in the Greek banking sector have told Greek newspapers that as much as 25 billion euros (US $28.4 billion) have left Greek banks since the end of December. According to the same sources, an estimated 900 million euros flowed out of Greek banks on Tuesday alone, the day after the talks broke up in Brussels, sparking fears that measures will be taken to stem the outflow. On Thursday, by mid-afternoon, deposits had shrunk by about 680 million euros (US $773 million).

“If outflows reach 1 billion euros, capital controls might need to be imposed,” said Thanasis Koukakis, a financial editor for Estia a conservative daily, and To Vima, an influential Sunday newspaper.

Crete will be the energy hub for EastMed Pipeline

As was said a few times before: Don’t count Greece out. This is their cash cow and raison d’être in the European Union.

 

Crete is considered to play a key role on energy scene, as East Med Pipeline will be extended to Cyprus, Crete, then in western Greece, the Peloponnese and Epirus and would come eventually the Greek-Italian pipeline IGI (Interconnector Greece-Italy).

Samaras proposes joint navy warship patrols with Chinese

As China’s presence on the international stage grows, it can rely on its ‘strategic partnership’ with Greece, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras tells Chinese President Xi Jinping on Rhodes

Crete could serve as a regional node for the support, maintenance and repair of the Chinese Navy and the possibility exists for joint naval operations between Greece and China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, the prime minister told the visiting Chinese president on Rhodes on Sunday.

“On Crete there is all the appropriate infrastructure for refuelling, maintenance and repairs for all your country’s navy units. There is a possibility of cooperation, for example, in joint patrols of war ships. And another example, in the area of fighting piracy, where the interests of our two peoples coincide,” Antonis Samaras told Xi Jinping.

Crete is also home to a Nato miltary and navy base at Souda bay. 

Cyprus, Israel and Greece sign MoU on energy and water

Meet your new economic foundations of the European Union: Cyprus and Greece. From this point, it seems they are not likely to be kicked out of the union and could become part of the upcoming United States of Europe.

Cyprus, Israel and Greece have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the fields of energy and water.

Speaking after the signing of the MoU, Cyprus Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said “this is a monumental moment for the cooperation among the three countries”.

“The MoU is a framework which will determine the number of activities that the countries have agreed to jointly pursue, such as energy security supply, environmental concerns and a number of other issues which are common for us three”, he added.

Russian warships launch drill from Tartus versus US-Israeli-Greek naval exercise

Not 24 hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that a pre-emptive strike (by the US and/or Israel) would violate international law, Moscow put muscle into his warning: Tuesday, April 3, the Russian guided missile destroyer Smetliviy arrived  in the Syrian port of Tartus from its Black Sea base for a naval exercise. The warship’s support group is on the way.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the Russian flotilla carried a threefold message for Washington:

1.  The Russian-Iranian strategy of propping up the Assad regime which has brought the Syrian ruler close to victory over his foes, will continue: Diplomacy will be propelled by military impetus.
2.  Russia is providing the Assad regime with defense systems capable of repelling foreign military intervention.
3.  Consigning the Smetliviy warship to Syria illustrates Moscow’s new rapid response policy: Russia is launching a naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean to match the “Noble Dina” air and naval maneuver the US, Israel and Greece are conducting across a broad expanse of sea between Crete and the Israeli bases at Haifa and Ashdod.

Full article: Russian warships launch drill from Tartus versus US-Israeli-Greek naval exercise (DEBKAfile)