The US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, reportedly said at a private dinner in Athens, speaking about the political crisis in Romania: "We can do that to any country we want. We can do it here too." Here - meaning Greece. That's how the Wall Street Journal described the dinner, citing a person who was present and others to whom the conversation was later recounted.

The dinner took place in March, with American and Greek officials at the table. Greek Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, according to the same sources, replied that the US couldn't change the Greek government because Greek voters had elected it. The conversation then became very tense. Guilfoyle's lawyer disputes this account.

The timing is what makes the sentence uncomfortable. In March, the government of Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan was facing a serious crisis. On May 5 it fell: the Social Democratic Party withdrew its support, its ministers left the coalition, and parliament passed a no-confidence vote. The remark itself, even if reported accurately, is not proof that Washington had a hand in the fall - and that needs to be said loudly. But when a superpower's ambassador talks like this at dinner, the question asks itself.

The sentence is only part of a wider story. According to the paper, in recent months Guilfoyle has been traveling intensively across Southeast Europe promoting the so-called Vertical Gas Corridor - a route by which American liquefied gas would reach Central and Eastern Europe and Ukraine via Greece and other Balkan countries.

Regularly appearing beside her is Christos Marafatsos, a Greek-American businessman and lobbyist for the Greek construction and energy company Aktor. He accompanied her to meetings with state officials so often that some foreign representatives thought he was part of her diplomatic team, even though he's a private citizen. The paper writes that in talks with Balkan officials, Guilfoyle promoted deals involving Aktor, and that the company and its partners have signed gas agreements in several countries in the region in recent months.

Her lawyer says the ambassador worked with companies across the energy sector through official channels. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly described her as a very effective advocate of Trump's policy. Before diplomacy, Guilfoyle was a prosecutor and a Fox News host, for years in the innermost circle around the Trump family - and the fiancée of Donald Trump Jr.

Geopolitics, gas, business and personal ties - all at one table. The Balkans know this scene by heart: the great power brings an offer, and with the offer comes a "friend" who happens to be lobbying. How many other officials in the region have heard a similar sentence - and how many answered the way Papastavrou did?