This Sunday’s Kathimerini newspaper revealed that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had received help from the United States before starting the critical talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
According to the publication the ambassador of Greece in Washington sent a secret telegram to the Greek Prime Minister which contained guidelines that Tsipras should follow during the negotiations with Berlin. Washington showed a keen interest in keeping Greece in the Eurozone and advised the SYRIZA-led government to show a willingness for reform in the weeks and months leading up to the July 13th agreement on a third bailout between Greece and its lenders, wrote Kathimerini.
The telegram’s aim was to create broader alliances with other European powers such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Austria, who would support Greece against Germany, if the country showed willingness to implement reforms. The Greek ambassador explained in his message that Washington wished to stress the geopolitical importance of keeping Greece in the single currency and the need for the Eurozone to provide further debt relief.
Furthermore, he suggested that the U.S. government also encouraged the International Monetary Fund to be vocal on the issue of debt relief. The telegram clearly stated that the U.S. was also expecting that the Greek side would implement the agreed reforms.
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