Rubio in Greece: West ‘at crossroads’, urges national power, tech dominance

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to deliver a major foreign policy address on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, in Athens, Greece. His speech will draw upon ancient Greek Heroes, such as Alexander the Great, and warn that the West is "at a crossroads" and must embrace "national power" and technological innovation or risk sliding into decline.

"Either we choose to act now, or lose the choice to act at all," he was set to say, according to excerpts from a speech he is to deliver later near the Acropolis. According to Rubio, the United States under President Donald Trump has made its choice to pursue "national power: to take back control of our critical supply chains, to reindustrialise our economy, to rebuild our defence, to fight for dominance of the technologies and industries of the future."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently on a multi-nation European tour from October 5–8, 2026. Rubio arrived in Greece on Wednesday from Iceland and underlined the "critical" US alliance with Greece, particularly in the energy sector and announced a joint agreement on information-sharing on drug trafficking and terrorism. Rubio will head towards Lisbon on October 8 to conclude his four-day tour before returning to Washington.

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"As you see a world that faces... destabilising events, you recognise how important this alliance with Greece is to the United States," he said, referencing the conflicts in the Middle East and between Ukraine and Russia. Greece has positioned itself as a key hub in southeastern Europe with its recently opened gas pipelines and port infrastructure to contribute to the vertical corridor through eastern Europe to Ukraine.

This visit to Greece comes amid scrutiny about conflicts of interest involving the US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former fiancée of US President Donald Trump's son, Donald Jr and was accused of promoting the commercial interests of a Greek construction and energy company during official diplomatic engagements by repeatedly allowing a registered lobbyist for that foreign company to participate in meetings with senior US officials. When asked about the possible conflict of interest, Rubio declined to answer but expressed support for the former Fox News presenter.