Politics & Diplomacy
Rubio to lead sixth US–Greece strategic dialogue in Athens
Marco Rubio will lead the US delegation at the sixth US–Greece strategic dialogue in Athens during an October 5–8 trip, with defence and energy security on the agenda.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to travel to Athens during a 5–8 October trip that will also take him to Reykjavík and Lisbon. In Greece, he will lead the American delegation at the sixth U.S.–Greece Strategic Dialogue, with defence cooperation, regional security and energy security on the agenda.
The State Department’s travel announcement, dated 1 October, lists the three capitals in that order. It does not provide a separate date for the Athens session or identify additional Greek meetings. Rubio is scheduled to discuss economic and security cooperation with Icelandic officials before travelling to Greece, then meet Portuguese officials about defence, economic and technology cooperation in Lisbon.
For Athens, the dialogue offers a formal setting to review a partnership spanning military cooperation, security in the wider region and energy. The stated U.S. priorities are the three areas identified in the announcement; specific new agreements or purchases have not been announced as outcomes of this meeting.
The dialogue’s previous round
The fifth Strategic Dialogue was held in Washington on 9 February 2024, when then Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis met. Their joint statement covered defence and security cooperation alongside energy, regional affairs, trade and other bilateral issues.
The 2024 discussions addressed Greece’s planned acquisition of F-35 aircraft, the potential transfer of C-130H transport planes and Littoral Combat Ships, and a concept for cooperation on the Constellation-class frigate programme. Those were subjects of the earlier round, rather than decisions announced for the forthcoming Athens meeting.
The bilateral Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement also provides a framework for the American military presence and infrastructure cooperation in Greece. Facilities and locations associated with that cooperation include Souda Bay, Larissa and Alexandroupolis. Regional and energy security are now explicitly among Washington’s priorities for the sixth dialogue.
Rubio and Gerapetritis previously met at the State Department in Washington on 28 February 2025. The photograph accompanying this article records that earlier meeting; it is an archive image and does not show the forthcoming Athens visit.
