Ekathimerini — Washington guided Greece in bailout talks, envoy reveals

Panagopoulos also explains in his note that Washington’s strategy was to stress the geopolitical importance of keeping Greece in the single currency and the need for the eurozone to agree a further reduction of Greek debt. The Greek ambassador suggests that the US government also encouraged the International Monetary Fund to be vocal on the issue of debt relief.

Sources also told Kathimerini that it was Washington who emphasized the geopolitical angle to the Greek issue through NATO. On June 19 NATO deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said a Greek exit would “indeed have repercussions” for the alliance. He told a security conference in Bratislava that NATO was “worried about” a Grexit. His comments came just after Greece and Russia agreed a pipeline deal.

Panagopoulos describes in his telegram that there was frequent and extensive contact between Athens and Washington, including officials from the Treasury and the State Department, during the protracted negotiations that led to the signing of the third bailout in Brussels.

Turns out that the US did play a role in the process but left Greece to hang out to dry instead of pressuring Merkel to cut a deal that had a chance of actually working rather than being resulting in a German occupation of Greece.

Did Tsipras tell Varoufakis?

Turns out that the leaders of Syriza weren't even pseudo-Marxists.

Ekathimerini
Washington guided Greece in bailout talks, envoy reveals

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