The US is exploring the possibility of increasing the numbers of drills and troops in Greece, which could lead to enhanced intelligence efforts in nearby hotspots according to Russian Sputnik.

Greek officials are considering expanding US access to additional bases, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford told reporters in Athens on Tuesday.

Quoting Pentagon's internal news service, Stars and Stripes, the US military has already “taken advantage” of several bases in Greece, including Naval Support Activity in Souda Bay and Greece's Larissa Air Force Base.

Sputnik reported Dunford said Wednesday, “We… have taken advantage of Souda Bay — it's a critical piece of infrastructure here in the region, and Greece has also been open to expanding training opportunities for our forces that are stationed in Europe, in particular for U.S. Army units to do training with helicopters,”

“If you look at geography and you look at current operations in Libya and current operations in Syria, (and) you look at potential operations in the eastern Mediterranean, the opportunities here [in Greece] are pretty significant,” he added.