Biden's swearing in: What does the new administration bring to Greece and the world?

Biden was sworn in today and we see a change of leadership in the White House.

What does the beginning of Joe Biden's presidency bring to Greece and the world?

In view of the official inauguration of Biden today, we focus on the main pillars of his foreign policy.

What should Greece expect from the change of baton in the White House?

"Greece will not be his first priority, he will try to repair the American economy that is sinking in the midst of the coronavirus," Themis Tzimas, a lawyer and postdoctoral researcher at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, told Sputnik Hellas.

US goals with Greece and Turkey

According to him, the US will first deal with relations with Turkey and then with Greece.

A moratorium on the activation of the S-400s by Turkey will be a key goal of the new US political leadership, he estimated and added:

"The United States would like to restore the F-35 program, and if Erdoğan does not prove to be a real maximalist, then relations between the two countries could be smoothed out.

"As long as they enter such a trajectory, the pressure on Greece to accept certain Turkish aspirations will probably increase, at least so that there are no tensions."

At the same time, the analyst refers to the possibility of an American "Clinton-type" policy, as he characterised it, describing it as "a policy where hot episodes are avoided, but with a significant price for Greece: The acceptance of accomplishments."

"Many of the five-party negotiations (under the auspices of the UN on Cyprus) will be seen. It would not be unlikely that a common solution for the Cyprus problem together with the Aegean will be fermented," he said.

Biden's foreign policy priorities

If Turkey is high on the agenda of the new American policy, then Russia seems to be even higher.

According to Tzimas, the degree of American intervention will be seen during the first quarter of Biden's presidency.

As for Russia, the question is "will the Democrats' anti-Russianism prevail?"

"The analysis of the systemic American media for the laptop that was stolen from Pelosi and 'sold to Russia' predisposes to such situations," he claimed.

American authorities are investigating whether a woman stole a laptop or a hard drive from the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi during the invasion of the Capitol and then tried to sell the device in the Russian secret services.

According to the analyst, this was at least the image that the American media tried to present.

"It seems that there will be a very clear anti-Russian turn, which already existed but was smoothed by the contact between Trump and Putin. Now the climate will be even harsher," he said.

In the context of anti-Russianism, it is not unlikely that NATO will strengthen its presence on Russia's border as a form of pressure.

The key to this will be the friction of Russia and the US on issues in which Turkey is involved, namely Syria, Libya, the Caucasus.

In relation to China, Tzimas estimates that there will continue to be competition, especially as it seems that the Chinese are the winners of the pandemic.

So on a list of possible foreign policy priorities, Russia and China would be at the top for Biden.

"The problem with Biden is that he does not have a clear strategy for America's place in the world. He seems to want in general and vaguely to restore the strong American footprint worldwide, something for which there are no conditions," Tzimas said.

"One of the things he would like to do is to strengthen the role of NATO, which has been dead for decades," he concluded.