By Penelope Galliou

The “road map” of the Greek moves on the diplomatic chessboard, after Iran’s attack on Israel, was put on the carpet of the extraordinary meeting of the Governmental National Security Council (KYSEA) at the Maximos Palace, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the participation of the Minister Defense, Nikos Dendias, who hastily returned from the USA, due to the developments.

During the meeting, all the latest developments in the Middle East and the risks arising from the new escalation for security and stability in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region were assessed and discussed.

According to information, the unwavering will of the Greek government is to maintain the open channels of communication between Athens and Tel Aviv, with the government staff estimating – according to the same information – that for now the most likely option is Israel not to respond immediately with a new escalation and retribution of the strike on Iran, without, however, ruling out the opposite possibility in the next period.

“The most powerful admonition to the Israelis is that of the American president, which at the moment seems to be taking hold. It remains to be seen how long and what will be put in the background to be prolonged. At the moment there does not appear to be any immediate economic impact, but we are waiting”, said a government source after the end of the KYSEA meeting.

The government spokesman, Pavlos Marinakis, in the statement he issued after the meeting, reiterated Greece’s condemnation of the attack on Iran, stressing that “Greece unequivocally condemns the attack against Israel and the threats to regional stability and security” while noting the perennial role of our country in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean, as a stabilizing factor in the region, noting how “Greece, a pillar of stability and security in the region, underlines the need for self-restraint on all sides in order to avoid a wider regional conflict”.

Also alert for the financial consequences of escalation

The developments in the Middle East are expected to concern the economic staff of the government as well, with the first overview of the situation being attempted already today, during the regular weekly meeting of the economic staff, under the Minister of Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis, in order to analyze and assess all the scenarios resulting from Iran’s attack on Israel, but also the possibility of retaliation from Tel Aviv. In any case, attention is expected to be directed, in the first phase, in two directions: fuel and inflation. Already a first picture of the reaction and the effects of the international markets will be given from today with the opening of the Asian stock markets and then the European and Wall Street.

At the moment, the primary role is played by the effects on the prices of liquid fuels and the risk that developments in the Middle East will continue to increase prices. However, a government source noted and warned that “the government is not prepared to accept unjustified increases in fuel stocks that have already been priced and taxed”.