Obama meets key European leaders amid worries over president-elect Trump

Barack Obama has said he and Donald Trump “could not be more different” – adding: ‘That’s how democracy has to work’.

Wrapping up the Greek leg of a farewell European tour aimed at reassuring traditional allies concerned over a Trump presidency, Obama acknowledged that globalisation had fuelled a sense of “injustice”. This uprising was brutally suppressed by the US-backed junta of the colonels, which collapsed the following year.

Security has been draconian in Athens during Obama’s stay, with more than 5,000 police deployed, a ban on public gatherings and demonstrations in swathes of central Athens and near his seaside resort hotel, along with shutdowns of roads and subway stations when he has been on the move.

Around 2,500 people brandishing banners denouncing USA “imperialism” and calling Obama a “persona non grata” were turned away on Tuesday as they tried to breach barriers and reach the city centre, with police firing tear gas and stun grenades.

While Obama has generally been welcomed in Greece, some demonstrators hit the streets to protest against his visit. We have seen it here in Greece. “He is the reason we are here, because of his army’s war. I would have come to see Trump as well, but only out of pure curiosity because I don’t support him”.

Unsure how Trump as president may shake up foreign relations, world leaders have turned to Obama for information about what to expect.

One wonders how Obama thinks that he can get away with such nonsense-other than the fact that he rarely speaks to anyone but the lords of finance, the U.S. military and the obscenely rich show-business figures who still treat him like a fellow celebrity. The Greek Government has pinned its hopes on Obama persuading some of the financially stricken country’s more reluctant global creditors to grant debt relief, as well as pressuring other European countries to share more of the burden of the continent’s refugee crisis. “And it is not simply a matter of us being true to our values, it’s not just a matter of idealism – I believe it is practical for the United States to support democracies”. As Headlines News reports, President Obama will be talking about democracy on its own birthplace, and maybe, talk about the incoming president by defending some of Trump’s motivation.

“People have to know that they’re being heard”, Obama said in a speech to the Greek people in Athens.

No riots were reported in Thessaloniki, but people still burned American flags.

Even in Greece, there were parallels to the deep divisions now on display in America.

On Ukraine, the White House said the leaders agreed that sanctions against Russian Federation must remain in place until it meets its commitments to resolving the conflict. “We thank our Greek allies for our close cooperation at Souda Bay”. “We have to look forward”.

Alluding to Trump’s campaign suggestion that the U.S. might not defend Nato allies that did not pay their fair share of the transatlantic alliance’s cost, Obama said he believed Washington’s commitment to the organisation would continue.

Yet in today’s world, looking to the recent past for answers to economic challenges probably will not work, he said.

“The next American president and I could not be more different”, Obama told an audience here in Athens.

Obama has not weighed in directly on the leadership fight.

During the trip, the outgoing president has repeatedly referred to the anger that has breathed life into populist movements in Europe and the US. Obama urged President-elect Trump to reach out and send signals of unity towards women and minority group and to other organizations who were concerned about his campaign.

As the president-elect holes up in his skyscraper, Obama is giving Trump policy advice, style tips and gentle nudges to let the fervor of the campaign give way to the sobriety of the Oval Office.