Kammenos statements from Washington cause sharp reactions in Athens

While the government (in which Mr Kammenos is junior partner) insists on every occasion and in any way that its firm goal is the adoption of the Prespa Agreement, and Mr Tsipras himself expresses the wish but also the certainty that FYROM PM Zoran Zaev will overcome the difficulties that have arisen in his country after the referendum, the defense minister "struck", even though on American soil.

The "CKammenos Initiative" to propose to Washington a new (his own) "Plan B" to the name issue but also the almost official invitation to the US to install other bases in Greece, has, of course, provoked a storm of reaction in Athens, both in the opposition as well as within the government.

But the "strange" and interesting thing is that the government's reactions were mainly focused on the Defense Minister's Plan for Skopje's "Plan B" and almost nothing was said on the American base issue.

As politicians and diplomats said, Mr Kammeno's visit to Washington was official after an invitation of his US counterpart. The defense minister went to the US capital as a member of the Greek government, representing and expressing its policy. This does not entail that a minister on an official mission, and at so high-level may express ... "personal views".

Mr. Kammenos' actions, as the same circles note, acquires extra gravity after the fact that, despite the climate his actions precipitated in Athens, he did not even want to allay any impressions that were created, justifying even pretentiously that he "expressed personal or party views ". Something, however, that would have been obviously hypocritical, as in the relevant video it appears Kammenos said what he said by a reading a prepared text, during the formal meeting.

From this point of view, the same circles expressed the suspicion that the whole affair is about another "opening", a gesture of goodwill, towards the government to the US, with unknown expectations made by the "rebel" Mr. Kammenos. At the same time, with his "rebellion", he is looking forward, in view of the elections, to the reinforcement of the ANEL electorate, which is collapsing dramatically.