Victoria Nuland in Athens on Sunday

Greek-American diplomatic relations are better that they ever were and there are plenty of issues in which Greek diplomacy could use some American help – the FYROM and Cyprus issues being primary among them. For this and many other reasons, the prime minister and the foreign minister will be welcoming American assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland this Sunday.

Mrs. Nuland is not a newcomer in Greek-American relations. In 2008, she was a key diplomatic figure in the NATO Bucharest summit, in which Greece vetoed Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's entry in the Alliance due to its ongoing dispute over FYROM's official name. Back then, the Assistant Secretary was US's permanent representative in NATO's headquarters in Brussels.

Victoria Nuland will be coming to Athens in Sunday via Munich, where she's been escorting Secretary of State John Kerry, in the Munich Security conference. According to the State Department statement, Mrs. Nuland will be discussing bilateral and international issues of economic development with the Greek political leadership.

After the conclusion of her Greek visit, the Assistant Secretary will be traveling to Nicosia, Cyprus, where she will be attending meetings with both Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot leaders. Although the content of her talks will be about “initiatives for further development and strengthening American Cypriot relations”, the Cypriot issue will be discussed. The official statement says that Mrs. Nuland will be restating the US positions on the issue of the island's division, which is that America supports a just and lasting accord between the two sides, through the UN Secretary General's initiatives.