Hegseth and Rubio to Visit Athens Ahead of NATO Summit as Trump Trip to Greece Takes Shape

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to sojourn Athens successful July up of a captious NATO summit, U.S. Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle has announced, arsenic plans instrumentality signifier for President Donald Trump to marque an authoritative sojourn to Greece aboriginal successful 2026.

Mrs. Guilfoyle, speaking during a sojourn to Greek nationalist broadcaster ERT, confirmed the high-level furniture visits volition precede the NATO acme successful Turkey and said readying for a statesmanlike travel is actively underway.

White House advisers are said to beryllium powerfully encouraging Mr. Trump to docket the sojourn to coincide with the celebrations marking the 250th day of American independence. 

The symbolic resonance of linking the semiquincentennial of American ideology with a authorities sojourn to its past birthplace successful Athens has reportedly been a persuasive statement wrong the administration.

No last determination connected the statesmanlike itinerary has been announced.

The prospective visits bespeak the deepening strategical narration betwixt Washington and Athens. 

Greece has positioned itself arsenic a cardinal NATO anchor successful the Eastern Mediterranean, is rapidly moving toward the alliance's defence spending benchmarks and has cultivated a web of bilateral partnerships — with the United States, France, Israel and Gulf states — that has elevated its geopolitical lasting importantly successful caller years.

Mrs. Guilfoyle earlier told the Delphi Economic Forum that President Trump views Greece arsenic a "foundational strategical partner" successful 1 of the world's astir captious regions, describing the bilateral narration arsenic stronger than astatine immoderate constituent successful caller memory.