Due to the strong historical, political, cultural and religious ties between them, Greece and the United States today enjoy excellent diplomatic relations and consider each other an ally.

According to the Transatlantic Periscope, Greece is the United States closest ally in The European Union, even closer than France, Poland or Germany.

[13] A 2024 poll showed that a majority of Greeks viewed the role and stance of the United States of America towards Greece positively, making the U.S. more popular than in any of the other Western European countries surveyed by YouGov.

[17] However, as Angelo Repousis shows, private citizens including philanthropists, missionaries, and political activists, inspired by a vision of ancient Greece, were eager to become involved in Greek affairs.

The ships ensured Greece kept its naval superiority in the Aegean against Turkey, which was threatening to reclaim the islands it had lost during the Balkan Wars.

The sale of the ships was arranged by the Wilson Administration, including then Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, with Congressional authorization.

[23] Administration leaders, believed that the Eastern Mediterranean was ripe for an armed communist takeover since Britain had to withdraw its forces and its money from Greece.

[26] The United States also contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild Greece's buildings, agriculture, and industry as part of the Marshall Plan.

In the fiscal year 1995, Greece was the fourth-largest recipient of U.S. security assistance, receiving loans totaling $255.15 million in foreign military financing.

[30] In 1953, the first defense cooperation agreement between Greece and the United States was signed, providing for the establishment and operation of American military installations on Greek territory.

[35][36] More recently in April 2018, a group of students tried to topple the statue during a communist anti-American protest but were stopped by riot police.

[38] Bilateral Greek-U.S. military relations can be dated back to the early 19th century when Greeks were fighting for their independence against the Ottoman Empire.

In parallel, exchange of visits between high-level political and military officials to the two countries such as that of Condoleezza Rice to Athens reinforced cooperation between Greece and the United States in the areas of fighting against terrorism and the war against drugs.

The armies of the two countries, the United States Armed Forces and the Hellenic Armed Forces, also participate in large-scale military drills which are taking place in the Mediterranean region,[48][49][50][51] while Crete's naval base at Souda Bay in Greece, serves as the largest and most prominent naval base for the United States in the eastern Mediterranean.

[52][53][54] Additionally, the Souda Bay base features the only deep water port in the entire Southern European and Mediterranean regions that is suitable and capable for maintaining the largest aircraft carriers, making it of vital importance for the broader security in the region, with the only other such options available for the US Navy being Norfolk in the United States and Dubai in the Persian Gulf.

[55] In 2019, the two have signed a revised defense pact, which American officials described as critical to responding to security challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The deal provides for increasing joint U.S.-Greece and NATO activity at Larissa, Stefanovikio, and Alexandroupoli as well as infrastructure and other improvements at the Crete Naval Base.

[56][57] On 6 November 2020, Greece raised an official request to the United States for the acquisition of 18-24 stealth multi-role F-35 fighter jets from the year 2021.

Both Greece and the United States share membership in various international organisations with most important being the United Nations, NATO, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

[61] Greek-Americans are an established, well-organized community in the U.S. (several notable politicians, including former Vice-president Spiro Agnew, and Senators Olympia Snowe, Paul Sarbanes and Paul Tsongas are of Greek ancestry as well as 1988 Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis), and they help cultivate close political and cultural ties with Greece.

There are several political advocacy groups founded by Greek-Americans that seek to bring awareness of ongoing public and economic issues occurring in Greece.