In a series of interviews with Greek media, the US Ambassador to Greece, George Tsunis, reflected on his tenure in Athens a few weeks before leaving his post.
There is no word yet from President-elect Donald Trump and his team who will be appointed to replace him.
Tsunis, who took up his post in Athens in May 2022 is a Greek-American. In his first message on X in Greek he wrote: “Good morning from Athens…As the proud son of Greek immigrants, it’s an honor of a lifetime to return to Greece and serve as the next U.S. Ambassador. I am very happy.”
Having grown up in the Greek-American community of which he remains a very active member and having spent his summers in his parents’ village in Greece, he came to Athens already familiar with the country, the Greek people, and the Greek ethos, he said.
“I am the son of Dimitris and Eleni Tsunis…from Platanos in the mountains of Nafpaktia. And it has been a great honor to serve as the US Ambassador here,” he said.
He added, “I think it would be wonderful if the tradition could continue, and Greece became like Ireland or Italy whose U.S. ambassadors are mostly drawn from the Irish-American and Italian-American communities. Such a development would reflect the stability of Greece but also the strength of the US-Greece relationship and how close the two nations are.”
Tsunis: I am leaving the Embassy but not Greece
Two-and-a-half years later, Tsunis is about to return to the US. He said he was leaving the embassy but not Greece, noting that he will always be by Greece’s side and will help in any way he can.
Speaking on Monday in an interview with Mega TV, he referred to US-Greece relations, which he described as excellent. He described Greece as an important strategic partner of the US in the region while noting that the values that the US respects, such as democracy, were born in Greece.
In an interview with state broadcaster ERT, Tsunis expressed hope that nothing will change in relations with Greece after the election of Donald Trump and said that things have been good over the last fifteen years and relations between the US and Greece have improved.
He noted that the countries had good relations during Trump’s first term and praised the selection of Florida US Senator Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State and the point man in foreign relations during a tumultuous time in the world.
He said that Rubio understands the importance of the US-Greece bilateral relationship and Greece’s role in NATO as a stabilizing factor in the region.
Outgoing US Ambassador on Greece-Turkey
On Greek-Turkish relations, he said that the situation in the Aegean is calm now, and it is better for both Greece and Turkey. He added that the US wants the resolution of the Greek-Turkish differences through diplomatic means because the alternative is unthinkable, as he said.
He estimated that although they may not be resolved, they can be defused and described stability as an important priority for the United States.
Ambassador Tsunis proud of Greece’s achievements
Tsunis proclaimed he is proud of Greece, as from the “black sheep” of Europe, it managed to become a country with a growth rate three times that of the Eurozone and is doing quite well. He stressed the need to create an innovation ecosystem and said there is interest from US universities to come to Greece.
Asked about the Parthenon Marbles, he said that ancient objects should be returned to their place of origin.
Tsunis said his tenure in Athens was the greatest honor of his life, having served as Greece was exiting an economic crisis. He also made mention of US assistance with a $125 million investment in reopening the Elefsis Shipyards.
That was through an investment by the American companies Onex and Cisco that will resurrect the once dormant yard which had only about 200 part-time workers but now will repair 200 ships annually. Around 1,900 people will be employed there.
Tsunis said this would increase to as many as 8,300, as Greece is accelerating its recovery and the yards will add $2 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), providing access to skilled jobs.
He added that he was glad to have served in Greece at a time when anti-Americanism has largely waned and as there’s been a surge in major US companies, especially in information technology, investing in the country.
Those included, as he noted, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Pfizer, and Chubb. In his first term, said Tsunis, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis went hard after Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and succeeded.
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