Opposition parties play down Samaras-Obama talks

The main leftist opposition party SYRIZA on Friday played down the outcome of talks between Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and US President Barack Obama, declaring in a statement that they had yielded “nothing good for Greek society or the economy.”

The statement was particularly critical of Samaras’ comments eyeing a closer regional cooperation between Greece and Israel, particularly in the energy sector, noting that «the creation of this alliance entails the risk of destabilizing our country’s relations with the Arab world and would also facilitate Turkey’s penetration of Arab states.”

Democratic Left (DIMAR), formerly the third party in the ruling coalition, remarked that Obama’s declared opposition to excessive austerity “confirms that the path that our country, and many other European countries, are following, will not lead to an exit from the crisis.” DIMAR asked for a full briefing of Samaras’ talks with Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The anti-bailout Independent Greeks accused Samaras of being “the only prime minister in the world who is hailing the failure of his policy, the policy of austerity.”

The ultra-right Golden Dawn accused Samaras of following “yes man” policies and of “total submission” to the US.