US seeks 'bridge' role in Turkish-Greek ties, ambassador says

ISTANBUL

The White House intends to act as a "bridge" between Türkiye and Greece to improve the relations between the two neighboring countries, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack has said.

"What we’re seeing in the world is a new momentum of putting the regrets of the past aside and creating a new paradigm. And it should start with Greece and Türkiye," Barrack told Greek daily Kathimerini in an interview on the sidelines of his visit to the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul.

Barrack also noted that he discussed Washington’s efforts on this matter with Greece’s newly appointed ambassador, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and U.S. President Donald Trump.

"We’ve talked about it with our president and said, 'Could we be the mortar, somehow, in bringing these two bricks together in a new way, bit by bit?" Barrack said.

"A new regional ordinance of dealing with each other has to happen. Hopefully the U.S. can be a bridge to having this happen," he added.

It makes no sense for two great countries that are bound to each other to still have “resentment over things that happened hundreds and thousands of years ago,” he expressed.

Barrack further emphasized that the ethnically divided island of Cyprus should also be included in regional dialogue and peace efforts.

"You can’t have an abscess in the middle of a healthy body. Every part of that body has to be healed. And Cyprus is a key part. So our hope is that it includes it," he said.

Barrack also mentioned that the goal is to make the possible reopening of the school in time for September 2026, referring to the status of Istanbul’s Heybeliada Seminary, which has remained closed for 55 years.