THE NEWS OF THE DAY

VISITE

—French President Macron will visit Athens. To sign the sale of 18 Rafale to the Greek Air Force. The trip was locked, it just was not announced, since the date has not been set (yet).

WE LEARN THAT: Negotiations for the purchase start this morning. When will they end ? Unknown. The only thing for sure is that they concern six new and twelve used fighter jets.

TO KNOW: The pressure from the French for Athens to buy four Belh @ rra frigates is unbearable. But the Naval Company needs this order. She plays her survival there. As we wrote to you the day before yesterday, the French group has not received any orders to date. Athens, at this point, rules out this possibility.

TO KNOW 1: The most likely is that the frigates will be bought in the United States, in co-production with Greek shipyards..

IN THE LIST: For their part, the Dutch are trying to get what they can… they’re in the top five. Thus, after the Dutch Minister of Defense, representatives of the Dutch manufacturing company were in Athens in recent hours.

THE DECISION OF THE DAY 

DEPARTURE

— The fact that the seismic vessel Uruc Reis, since yesterday morning, has returned to Turkey, without any new Navtex (navigation request), while it had been in the Greek maritime space for 1 month, does not mean that the alert fell to the Greek Pentagon. However, everything indicates that we are heading towards a partial de-escalation.

THE REASON:  Ankara seems to have “succumbed” to pressure for dialogue, under the threat of sanctions. And so he did not renew this Navtex. The question is, in what exchanges.

THE VISIT: The day before yesterday, Pompeo’s visit to Nicosia proved to be crucial in every respect. A few hours after the Turkish research, they headed to Antalya.

THE VISIT 1:  The visit of the President of the Republic to Kastelorizo ​​took place yesterday. Ankara “responded” by sending its defense minister Akar to the Turkish port just across from the Greek island. But no other provocation.

THE OBSERVATION OF THE DAY

RESEARCH

—What kind of research has Uruc Reis been doing recently in the area? “Miscellaneous,” is the answer. In the sense that they were never three-dimensional – that is, complete – as they should be, but two-dimensional.

THE REASON:  Ankara says nothing has come forward because no serious gas fields have ever been discovered in the region

THE ANSWER: Athens insists that in fact Uruc Reis, under these martial circumstances, could not conduct a research

TO KNOW: Turkey replies that if a sufficient quantity of gas is found, even later, then three-dimensional searches will be carried out immediately, while immediately after, the drilling vessel “Kanouni” will be dispatched.

OTHERWISE

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THE BUSINESS NEWS OF THE DAY (1)

ΤΙΡ 1: EXTENSIONS

###  The Russian discount chain Mere is considering the possibility of having a presence in Greece as well. The first exploratory contacts have already begun and her decision is considered mature. So expect new entrances to the space.

THE BUSINESS NEWS OF THE DAY (2)

INVESTISSOR

— The government is officially looking for a strategic partner for the Scaramanga shipyards. Evolution is very important. Because, above all, it will affect the commissioning of the order of the four new frigates

THE NEWS: American funds are interested in the case (here too), but also Dutch, which is a surprise.

THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE DAY

ΤΙΡ 2: IN MARCH

### French President Macron, as we learn, will most likely return to our country in March. For reasons unrelated to the Greco-Turkish issue ..

THE PROBLEM OF THE DAY

…AND ITS SOLUTION

—  At the beginning of April, at best, the first funds from the Recovery Fund should flow into Greece. And the question that arises reasonably is: what will happen by then?

THE ANSWER: A competent minister explained to us this weekend that “we will probably do everything with the other European funds paid each year”. In other words, “the financing of projects from own resources will begin when the money comes from the Fund, »

THE ASSESSMENT: In the government, however, those who deal with the issue of the Fund, state that they are “anxiously optimistic”. This is because there are no mature projects for integration and funding. Still.

AND FINALLY

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THE ILLUSIONS OF THE DAY

IN AND OUT

—The image transmitted from Corsica may have been idyllic, but the atmosphere that prevailed in the discussions between the “7” was not so warm. What do we learn afterwards?

*** That the Maltese Prime Minister insisted until the last minute that there should be a statement of equal distances from Greece and Turkey in the final announcement, something that was prevented with the intervention of Macron

*** The next day the Spanish prime minister spoke with President Erdogan to express his sympathy

*** That the Italian Foreign Minister did the same with his Turkish counterpart

THE CONCLUSION: The German line is too hard for the French to break.

YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT:

***  Elon Musk’s headquarters are still trying to decipher GM’s decision to acquire a (significant) stake in Nikola. Which marks their dynamic entry into the electric vehicle market

*** To avoid the “black” screen in case it does not meet Trump’s sales deadlines, the US subsidiary of TikTok is considering a takeover bid by a Singaporean group.

*** And suddenly the children’s film “Mulan” acquires… political content. In particular, the Disney producer is accused of indirectly taking China’s stand against the Uyghurs, a fact that is starting to be debated in the Western world. And Disney has invested a lot in the film …

*** Britain, Japan and the United States will make interest rate decisions this week starting today. That is why it acquires a special interest. Abe’s successor to the Japanese prime minister will also be announced in the coming days, while Yale University will decide on his stance on the US federal government’s requirements for distance learning.

*** Again, how is this explained? As it just becomes known, the American president gave 18 interviews to the famous American journalist Bob Woodward, who is signing the new book about his works and his days in the White House. Critical. The most likely interpretation? He wanted to control the attack he would receive in this way. How? Through what he said (and he did not say …)