“It’s not a correct story” was US President Donald Trump’s reply to a reporter’s question on Monday asking him to comment on unspecified – at the time – media claims that the United States has decided to close down a “military base” in the extreme northeast Greece port city of Alexandroupolis.
Trump was asked the question in the White House’s Oval Office with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron at his side, with the reporter first citing “Greek media” as originators of the purported development, while adding that “it was at the request of Turkey and Russia”, in again citing the former.
Trump first turned to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asking “…Marco, do you have anything to say about it?”
Macron then pointed out US Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth – who was off camera – to Trump, who said, “that’s a no, sir”.
When Trump asked again, he received the same answer: “it’s a no, sir.”
Alexandroupolis, in the northern Aegean, has been a main port of entry for US and Western supplies and materiel shipped overland to northern destinations (especially Ukraine), gaining geostrategic significance due to bypassing the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits controlled by Turkey. Ankara has previously made known its annoyance with the US presence in the border city, which lies just west of the Turkish border in the Thrace province.
While no “base” or “camp” exists, a US military presence facilitates the transit of cargo, shipped by train and truck.
The report was later traced to a front-page article in the Sunday edition of the low-circulation Athens newspaper “Dimokratia”.
🚨Trump was initially unaware of the Greek media report about the closure of the U.S. military base in Alexandroupoli. After being informed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, he responded, “It’s not a correct story.” pic.twitter.com/FBey9HsOEw
— Rabia İclal Turan (@iclalturan) February 24, 2025
In terms of the main topic of discussion that dominated the meeting, Trump expressed optimism the Russia-Ukraine war was nearing its end, as he received the French leader on the third anniversary of the invasion.
Trump told reporters he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine to maintain the peace.
He also expressed hope that the conflict could end within weeks and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would soon come to Washington to sign an agreement giving the United States rights to Ukrainian mineral wealth, compensation for what’s being touted as 180 billion USD in aid given to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began.
“It looks like we’re getting very close,” he said ahead of the meeting with Macron, while adding that Zelenskyy could possibly arrive in Washington within the next two weeks to finalize the deal.
The media claim regarding Alexandroupolis was later picked up by far-right US news site Breitbart, who in quoting what it called a U.S. defense official – unnamed – had the latter as saying:
“There is no US base in Alexandroupolis — it is a Greek facility that the US has access to as under the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement. It simply serves as a surface transportation hub when U.S. equipment flows into and out of Europe. US transport personnel can surge to the location to manage episodic arrivals and departures of equipment, but this is not a US ‘base’ for the US to close.”
