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U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle reportedly told Greek officials that the United States could bring down governments in other countries, including Greece, U.S. media said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Guilfoyle made the comments during a private dinner in Athens in March attended by Greek and U.S. officials. The discussion reportedly turned to the expected collapse of Romania's government under then-Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
According to the newspaper, Guilfoyle got into a heated exchange with Greek Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou and, referring to the situation in Romania, told those present, "We can do this to any country we want. We can do it here too."
Papastavrou reportedly pushed back, arguing that the United States could not replace Greece's government because it was elected by the Greek people. Guilfoyle's lawyer disputes the newspaper's account of the exchange.
There is no publicly released recording or transcript of the private conversation, and the WSJ's account relies on people who attended the dinner and others who were later briefed on the exchange.
The reported remarks quickly sparked a political backlash in Greece, with opposition parties pressing the government to address the allegations and clarify what was said during the private dinner.
PASOK called on the Foreign Ministry and Energy and Environment Ministry to explain the report and clarify whether the account was accurate. The Greek Left Alliance also called the alleged remarks unacceptable and asked the government to clarify whether the exchange took place and, if so, how officials responded.
SYRIZA separately called on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government to confirm or deny the reported conversation, while New Left questioned why the alleged incident, reportedly in March, remained undisclosed for months.
The comments were linked to the political crisis that eventually brought down Bolojan's government in Romania. Romania's parliament approved a no-confidence motion on May 5, bringing down the government led by Bolojan. The vote later became part of the broader controversy surrounding Guilfoyle's reported comments.
Romanian Social Democratic Party leader Sorin Grindeanu, whose party later voted against Bolojan's government, rejected suggestions that the United States played a role in the government's fall.
Grindeanu said his March 31 meeting with Guilfoyle in Bucharest concerned the Vertical Gas Corridor, a regional energy route in which Romania could serve as a transit country, and described suggestions of a political arrangement as "pure fabrications."
The reported exchange came amid Guilfoyle's broader efforts to promote U.S. liquefied natural gas across southeastern Europe.
A separate Wall Street Journal investigation reported that Guilfoyle had promoted Greek construction company Aktor Group in regional energy discussions and that Aktor lobbyist Christos Marafatsos had frequently accompanied her to meetings with foreign officials.
The investigation also reported that Marafatsos was closely advising Guilfoyle while working as an energy lobbyist.
The effort is tied to the Vertical Gas Corridor, which is designed to move U.S. LNG arriving in Greece northward through Bulgaria and Romania and toward other markets, including Ukraine.
The WSJ reports that Guilfoyle has pushed European countries to expand their purchases of U.S. gas as part of the broader effort to reduce reliance on Russian energy.
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