By ZEKE MILLER AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will host Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White...

Global News Through a Greek Lens
Global News Through a Greek Lens
There are growing indications that Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is attempting to emerge, and is succeeding, as US President-elect Donald Trump’s privileged interlocutor in Europe.
The ideological affinity and personal chemistry between the newly elected US president and Meloni, combined with the political crises experienced by Germany and France, reinforce this perspective.
Just a few days ago, Meloni made a trip to Florida, where she met with the former and next US president and had extensive discussions with Trump’s nominees for secretary of state and national security adviser – Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Mike Waltz, respectively.
In her talks with the next in line to occupy the White House, Meloni, like every leader of Italy, brings the significant political, economic and diplomatic footprint of the third largest economy in the eurozone, and the power – in terms of number of votes and amount of campaign funding – that stems from the large Italian diaspora in America.
At the same time, the leader of the Brothers of Italy has common approaches to the newly elected Republican president on issues such as immigration, while she has developed a special relationship, which includes frequent mutual compliments, with the billionaire Trump supporter and recent critic of parties and leaders in the UK, Germany and Canada, Elon Musk.
The development must be evaluated by Athens, which, in addition to the right moves it is making by playing a stabilizing role in the Balkans and participating, together with Cyprus, in the trilateral strategic cooperation schemes with Israel and Egypt (on Wednesday a summit was held in Cairo between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Egyptian and Cypriot Presidents Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Nikos Christodoulides), is called upon to start building its own bridges with the new US administration.
Time is of the essence, especially after the latest developments in Syria that elevate Turkey’s role in the region, something that Trump publicly acknowledged by stating in a press conference on Tuesday that “President Erdogan is a friend of mine. He’s a guy I like, respect.”
Both countries of the European South, Italy and Greece face similar challenges, while on a personal level the prime ministers of the two countries maintain excellent relations.
In this light, Athens has every reason to invest in further strengthening its relationship with Rome in the near future. In this context, it would be useful to take initiatives for closer cooperation between the Greek and Italian diaspora in the United States.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1258053/trump-meloni-and-greeces-moves/
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