US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may make a brief stop in Athens one day before or – most likely – after the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7 and 8, where he will be accompanying President Donald Trump, Kathimerini understands.

If indeed he flies to Athens, it will not be an official visit, as this would require significant preparations by both sides, but in these 2-3 hours Hegseth will meet both his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Until Thursday night, there was no official information about a possible visit, which indicates the complexity of such an undertaking. According to sources, the US defense secretary initially planned to stop at Souda Bay to visit the US forces.

If Hegseth visits Athens, the scope of discussions will be mainly symbolic in nature, although at the level of armaments there are several open issues.

Greece will receive the first F-35 fighter jets in two years, while it is discussing with small (by US standards) American companies to procure unmanned platforms of various types. But discussions with suppliers of major weapons systems from the US are rather problematic.

Source: Ekathimerini.com