{"id":8291,"date":"2022-08-18T22:26:46","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T19:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/?p=8291"},"modified":"2022-08-18T22:29:42","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T19:29:42","slug":"alexandroupoli_us_military","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/alexandroupoli_us_military\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexandroupoli Becomes U.S. Arms Hub, as Ukraine War Reshapes Region | The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The New York Times<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flow of U.S. military supplies through Alexandroupoli has angered Russia and Turkey. Now, firms with ties to Russia and America are competing for control of the port.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

ALEXANDROUPOLI, Greece \u2014 It is an unlikely geopolitical flash-point: a concrete pier in a little coastal city, barely used a few years ago and still occupied only by sea gulls most of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the sleepy port of Alexandroupoli in northeastern Greece has taken on a central role in increasing the U.S. military presence in Eastern Europe, with the Pentagon transporting enormous arsenals through here in what it describes as the effort to contain Russian aggression<\/a>. That flow has angered not only Russia but also neighboring Turkey, underlining how war in Ukraine is reshaping Europe\u2019s economic and diplomatic relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey and Greece are both NATO members, but there is longstanding animosity between them, including conflict over Cyprus<\/a> and other territorial disputes<\/a> in the Mediterranean, and Ankara sees a deeper relationship between Athens and Washington as a potential threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spike in military activity has been welcomed by the government of Greece, most of its Balkan neighbors and local residents, who hope that Americans will stimulate the regional economy and provide security amid rising regional tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a small country,\u201d said Yiannis Kapelas, 53, an Alexandroupoli cafe owner. \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing to have a big country to protect us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raising the strategic stakes is the impending sale of the Alexandroupoli port. Four groups of companies are competing to buy a controlling stake \u2014 two include American firms, backed by Washington<\/a>, and two have ties to Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. military operations in Greece have expanded greatly since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, and top officials from Moscow<\/a> and Ankara have called that a national security threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgainst whom were they established?\u201d President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said in June<\/a>, referring to the U.S. military outposts in Greece. \u201cThe answer they give is \u2018against Russia.\u2019 We don\u2019t buy it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most of NATO has sided emphatically with Ukraine, Mr. Erdogan \u2014 always willing to chart a different course<\/a> \u2014 has positioned Turkey as a mediator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May, the Greek Foreign Ministry claimed Turkish fighter jets violated<\/a> the country\u2019s air space over Alexandroupoli, just 11 miles from the Turkish border. The incident unnerved local residents concerned with Turkey\u2019s claims to parts of Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complex interplay of interests at Alexandroupoli highlights how the war is shifting the strategic focus of Europe to the Black Sea region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Black Sea is back on the global agenda in an unprecedented way,\u201d said Ilian Vassilev, a former Bulgarian ambassador to Moscow who now works as a strategic consultant. \u201cSecurity in the Black Sea is central to the issue of how you contain and deal with Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greece and Russia share deep historical, economic and cultural ties centered on the common Orthodox Christian religion. Greeks are among the few Europeans who largely want to maintain economic ties to Russia, polls show. But the war in Ukraine has badly strained those bonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The occupation of Ukrainian lands has struck a chord among Greeks, many of whom see parallels between the imperial rhetoric of President Vladimir V. Putin and the territorial claims of Turkey, whose predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, ruled Greece for centuries. The plight of Ukrainians has also resonated with Greek families whose ancestors fled Turkish pogroms in the early 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know about the pain of refugees,\u201d said Dimosthenis Karavoltsos, an Alexandroupoli taverna waiter. \u201cThere was no question in my mind about what side we should be on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greece\u2019s conservative government was one of the first to send military aid to Ukraine, prompting the Kremlin to put it on the list of \u201cunfriendly\u201d nations. Fear of Turkey and solidarity with Ukraine have pushed Athens closer to Washington, and it has granted the United States expanded military access<\/a> in several locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amount of war mat\u00e9riel moved by the United States through Alexandroupoli jumped nearly 14-fold last year \u2014 before the war, but as tensions with Russia mounted \u2014 to 3,100 \u201cpieces,\u201d a catchall term used by the Pentagon for all sorts of equipment from tanks to ammunition. It has already matched that figure this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. officials say the equipment is destined solely for American military units stationed in Eastern and Northern Europe, not for Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jump in activity is a drastic turnaround for a minor port that stood largely idle for almost a decade, blocked by a sunken barge that the U.S. Navy removed in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town\u2019s languid mood is transformed every few months when U.S. warships dock to unload tanks, trucks and artillery. The arrival of hundreds of Americans prompts periodic shortages of eggs and cigarettes, and lines outside tattoo parlors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between those bursts of activity, few signs pointed to the city\u2019s new importance. On the beach promenade near the port, couples push strollers, and day trippers, mostly from Turkey, snap selfies under the city\u2019s lighthouse. Civilian shipping remains minimal because of the lack of large cranes, but the Pentagon is installing heavy equipment to handle more cargo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we have done is transform the port into a dynamic military operations hub,\u201d said Andre Cameron, who oversees U.S. military logistics at the port. \u201cNothing like it has been done here before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local officials said they hoped the military upgrades at the port would attract investments in other industries, turning Alexandroupoli into a trade hub for nearby Bulgaria, Romania and even blockaded Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The port\u2019s growing strategic importance has highlighted the Russian ties of two Greek business groups competing to take it over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One group is led by Ivan Savvidis<\/a>, a Russian-Greek oligarch who has served in the Russian Parliament and sits on a foreign relations committee advising Mr. Putin. \u201cGreek by birth, Russian by lifestyle, Orthodox by faith,\u201d says a statement on Mr. Savvidis\u2019s website<\/a>, which features a photo of him with Mr. Putin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Savvidis\u2019s bid may be complicated by his ownership of the port of Thessaloniki, Greece\u2019s second largest, which could run afoul of competition laws. His spokesperson declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another bidder, a subsidiary of a Greek conglomerate, Copelouzos Group<\/a>, is more complex, highlighting Greece\u2019s shifting economic ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copelouzos is the local partner of state-owned Russian gas company, Gazprom, and, in a joint venture called Prometheus Gas, is Greece\u2019s third-largest supplier of natural gas. Copelouzos Group built \u2014 and, until 2016, operated \u2014 the airport of St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A diplomatic memo on the group\u2019s founder, Dimitrios Copelouzos, written by the American ambassador to Greece in 2007 and published by <\/a>WikiLeaks is titled \u201cGazprom by any other name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Copelouzos\u2019s competitors and detractors claim that these ties make him vulnerable to pressure from Gazprom, compromising the future of Alexandroupoli\u2019s strategic operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are significant concerns because the situation with Russia can deteriorate,\u201d said John Charalambakis, an owner of BlackSummit Financial Group<\/a>, an American asset management firm that is competing for control of Alexandroupoli. \u201cThe fact that Russia is using energy as a weapon is an important factor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerns over Mr. Copelouzos\u2019s Russian ties are shared by some members of the U.S. Congress, according to two congressional staff members familiar with the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the news media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copelouzos Group is privately held and does not make public its financial performance but says that its joint venture with Gazprom represents a tiny share of its business portfolio, which spans construction, real estate and energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe group has many cooperations across the world with many companies,\u201d said Ioannis Arapoglou, the Copelouzos Group\u2019s general manager. Prometheus Gas \u201cis just one of those, and a relatively small one for the size of the company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the Copelouzos family is investing in a project to build a liquid natural gas terminal near Alexandroupoli, meant to reduce Balkan reliance on Russian gas by bolstering supplies from the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his part, Mr. Charalambakis, the American businessman, says his interest in the port began in 2018, when Washington\u2019s ambassador to Greece at the time, Geoffrey Pyatt, told him American companies needed to start competing with Russia and China for influence there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington\u2019s growing attention was highlighted on Wednesday, when Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, made a surprise visit to Alexandroupoli<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greece has been steadily privatizing strategic assets since its debt crisis begun in 2009. The Thessaloniki port went to Mr. Savvidis; the port of Piraeus, Greece\u2019s largest, to a Chinese state-owned firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Pyatt, who left the post in May, has spoken out frequently<\/a> in support of the two American bids for Alexandroupoli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other American bidder, Quintana Infrastructure & Development<\/a>, declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Copelouzos Group\u2019s shift toward American partners mirrors Greece\u2019s changing economic reality, as the sanctioned and shrinking Russian economy supplies fewer opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This pragmatic approach is echoed in Alexandroupoli. Local officials and businessmen hope the war in Ukraine and regional tensions will transform the port into an alternative supply route that bypasses the Turkish-controlled straits to the Black Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery crisis creates opportunities,\u201d said Konstantinos Chatzikonstantinou, the chief executive of the Alexandroupoli Port Authority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The flow of U.S. military supplies through Alexandroupoli has angered Russia and Turkey. Now, firms with ties to Russia and America are competing for control of the port.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-parts\/content-blog.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_events_control_status":"","_tribe_events_control_status_canceled_reason":"","_tribe_events_control_status_postponed_reason":"","_tribe_events_control_online":"","_tribe_events_control_online_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-what-we-like-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8291"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8300,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8291\/revisions\/8300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metacpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}