A senior New Democracy official has rejected claims that US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle threatened the Greek government during a dinner attended by Greek and American officials earlier this year.
New Democracy general secretary Konstantinos Kyranakis told Kathimerini that he was present during the exchange and said there was “no threat to Greece.”
The comments follow a report by The Wall Street Journal concerning a March dinner attended by Guilfoyle, Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou and other officials.
According to the Journal, Guilfoyle was reported to have referred to US involvement in the fall of Romania’s centre right government, telling Papastavrou: “We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here.”
The account was attributed to a person who attended the dinner as well as people who were later informed about the alleged exchange.
Papastavrou was reportedly said to have responded that the United States could not replace Greece’s elected government.
Guilfoyle’s lawyer has disputed the Wall Street Journal account.
ND official rejects threat claim
Kyranakis, who said he witnessed the exchange, rejected the suggestion that Guilfoyle had threatened Greece.
“I was right there. There was no threat to Greece,” he told Kathimerini.
The report has nevertheless prompted calls from opposition parties for the government to explain what was said during the dinner and whether the reported exchange took place as described.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis also rejected the suggestion on Monday that the Greek government had been threatened.
“There was never an issue of the Greek government being threatened,” Marinakis said.
He added that such a development would have been unacceptable.
The dispute comes amid heightened attention to US Greek relations and Washington’s expanding involvement in Greece’s energy and wider regional affairs.
