Greece's Syriza Party: We’re Not on Board with Sanctions on Russia

http://www.the-american-interest.com/2015/01/28/syriza-were-not-on-board-with-sanctions-on-russia/ ^

[Thistooshallpass9]

It looks like not all European governments signed off on yesterday’s joint statement encouraging new sanctions on Russia. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Greece’s new government, though, jumped into an early diplomatic spat with Brussels over the statement, which it said it hadn’t approved. The statement “was circulated without having followed the correct procedure for ensuring the consent of member states and, in particular, without ensuring Greece’s consent,” said Dimitrios Tzanakopolous, a senior aide to new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

The disagreement suggests the election victory of Mr. Tsipras’s left-wing Syriza party on Sunday could deepen divides within the bloc over how hard to press the Kremlin. […]

Greece can’t be ignored if it chooses to oppose further EU sanctions against Russia, since any penalties require a unanimous decision from all 28 governments. However, in the give and take of EU politics, the government of a small country is usually required to give ground in many other areas to achieve its priorities.

Is this Tsipras setting himself up for a better negotiating position on austerity (“I’ll let you sanction Russia if you forgive our debts”) or a sign of things to come? Definitely a trend to watch, especially as Syriza-sympathetic parties start seriously contesting other European elections.

[TruthInThoughtWordAndDeed]

Greece is sucking up to Russia.

Expect them to trade warm water ports for economic support.

They have nowhere else to turn.

[Dr. Ursus]

Please feel free to contact our bribe office!

[cripplecreek]

They're celebrating in the streets.

[Thistooshallpass9]

Good point. Russia doesn’t need a warm water port as badly anymore, since it has Crimea now, but I’m sure it’s still a consideration.

[11th Commandment]

This is what Greece did in the cold war- Played the west to get aid and handouts. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Greece lost its trumped card. Now it is using its veto power to get concessions from Brussels ahead of debt negotiations.

[spokeshave]

Expect them to trade warm water ports for economic support.

The Chinese brought out the inefficient operations at the port of Piraeus.

Under Chinese, a Greek Port Thrives - The New York Times

Oct 10, 2012 - Cosco, a global shipping giant owned by the Chinese government, is running its part of the port of Piraeus in a much different way than the the Greeks ran it (into the ground) ...

[dfwgator]

Greece is sucking up to Russia. Expect them to trade warm water ports for economic support. They have nowhere else to turn.

Yep, you nailed it....They also have the Orthodox links. Expect a lot of Russian Oligarchs to find cheap houses in Greece.

[dfwgator]

They have their Naval port in Syria, but of course with the way things are going there, they may be looking for an alternative, my speculation is Cyprus.