Former defense minister Mr. Panos Kammenos has broken a long public silence, claiming that a 2015 phone call from former U.S. President Mr. Barack Obama to then-Prime Minister Mr. Alexis Tsipras was instrumental in keeping Greece in the eurozone.
In an interview with iefimerida.gr, the former Independent Greeks leader detailed several previously undisclosed moments from the SYRIZA-ANEL government.
He confirmed that minutes and audio recordings exist from the secretive Council of Party Leaders meeting after the 2015 referendum, which he said was intended to pressure European partners.
Among his claims, Mr. Kammenos said that while Greece had made inquiries with Russia about printing drachmas, an offer to leave the EU from Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin never materialized.
On domestic politics, Mr. Kammenos revealed that Mr. Tsipras’s selection of Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos for president was a strategic move and that he and Mr. Tsipras had secretly agreed to call snap elections in August 2015.
While he described his relationship with Mr. Tsipras as an “honest cooperation,” he accused the former prime minister of deceiving him over the Prespa Agreement.
Mr. Kammenos also commented on current political figures, crediting Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis for his methodical approach and calling former Prime Minister Mr. Antonis Samaras “the most dangerous option for the country.”