Marco Rubio to urge Western renewal in Athens speech on democracy

Marco Rubio will use a speech in Athens to urge Western allies to reclaim shared civilisational values. The visit also spotlights protests, energy diplomacy and fresh scrutiny over the US ambassador to Greece.Stock photo used for illustrationAthens,Oct 7, 2026 12:14 ISTUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to use a speech in Athens on Wednesday to urge Western nations to return to what he describes as their civilisational roots and revive the values that shaped Europe and North America for centuries. Rubio is visiting Greece for talks on closer economic, energy and security cooperation, and will speak near the Acropolis, a symbol of the city’s ancient civilisation.The US State Department has billed the remarks as a major address on democracy and its future. The speech comes during Rubio’s three-country tour of NATO allies, which has taken him to Iceland and will end in Portugal on Thursday, as Washington tries to reassure partners unsettled by President Donald Trump’s often brusque approach to traditional allies.The department said Rubio will “call upon Americans and Europeans alike to join together in a great renewal of the Western spirit -- an inheritance stretching from Athens and Rome to Christendom to the founding of the American Republic.” It said he would highlight qualities he believes were born in Greece and later defined the West, including curiosity, courage, ambition and a restless spirit of exploration and discovery.“He will warn that too much of our civilisation has forgotten these essential qualities, and urge our allies across the West to join the United States in rejecting decline, defending our shared heritage, and confronting a new era of great-power competition together,” the department said. Rubio is widely seen as one of the more measured voices in the Trump administration and has often been sent out to address concerns over the president’s undiplomatic statements. But in some quarters, his Athens speech may be viewed as following Vice President JD Vance’s sharp address at last year’s Munich Security Conference, where Vance criticised Europeans over unchecked immigration, dependence on the United States and neglect of their own security.Rubio and Vance are also seen as leading contenders to carry Trump’s mantle in the Republican Party, which faces stiff challenges in next month’s congressional midterm elections. The Trump administration has repeatedly accused European countries of retreating from traditional values and democratic principles by stifling conservative free speech and failing to meet commitments to partners such as the United States. Many of those countries have rejected the complaints and, in turn, accused the Trump administration of similar behaviour, pointing in particular to its hardline anti-immigration stance, which some critics say is racist. Ahead of Rubio’s visit, about 1,500 people gathered in Athens to protest both his presence and the war in Iran, chanting “American killers!” The demonstration was organised by a communist labour union and other left-wing groups before extensive road closures in the Greek capital, and organisers said similar protests were held in at least 12 other Greek cities.Rubio began stressing historical themes earlier in the trip when he met Iceland’s foreign minister at the site of the 1986 summit between former US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a meeting many believe helped begin the end of the Cold War. In Reykjavik on Tuesday, he also sought to reassure Iceland that the Trump administration had no designs on the island and said Washington shared Reykjavik’s concerns about Arctic security as tensions with Russia rise in the High North and elsewhere. Iceland has been uneasy since Trump posted a map showing US flag colours spreading across North America and reaching Iceland and Greenland, though Rubio later said the United States would not do anything in Iceland “without Iceland’s consent”.Before his speech in Athens, Rubio is also likely to face questions about allegations of misconduct against US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle. The top Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Representative Gregory Meeks, have opened inquiries into Wall Street Journal reports that Guilfoyle told guests at a reception the United States could undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted the business interests of one Greek construction and energy company, and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings. Guilfoyle has denied wrongdoing, while Rubio has defended her, saying she “has been an incredible advocate for the president’s agenda in Greece and across Europe” and that he and Trump value her “pivotal work and leadership”, especially on energy issues.For the Trump administration, Greece remains central to plans to expand the promotion and export of US-produced liquefied natural gas to south-eastern and central Europe. Rubio’s visit to Athens therefore combines a major political speech on the West and democracy with talks on security and energy, even as protests and questions over the US ambassador add to the scrutiny around the trip.With PTI Inputs- Ends