Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking on Friday at the conference “Metapolitefsi 1974-2024: 50 years of Greek foreign policy,” stressed that the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf is the only difference between Greece and Türkiye. “Any other issue Türkiye raises is not up for discussion,” he said.
He also announced that he will visit Lebanon on Monday, a trip of special importance, he said. On Greek-Turkish relations, Mitsotakis said that in the six times he has met with Erdogan, they have explored whether there is a possibility to discuss the main dispute with Türkiye, which is the delimitation of the EEZ and continental shelf. “I tell you openly that I don’t see at this moment that this discussion can be possible…” he added, noting, “When all the former prime ministers had exploratory talks or had private discussions with President Erdogan, were they under any illusions? I don’t think so. Neither did we.”
Mitsotakis stressed that at the same time, a series of decisions of the European Council that determine the relations between Europe and Türkiye have been strengthened. He stressed that Türkiye has many complex fronts. Regarding the situation in Syria, he said that “it is a huge change, and we have a role and a say.” Mitsotakis also noted that Syria’s stability to welcome back refugees is of great importance for Greece.
He also stressed that he was among the leaders in the European Council who had been in contact with Donald Trump since his first term. “And since then we have taken steps such as the defence cooperation agreement and the greater penetration of American companies, for example, in the field of artificial intelligence where Greece is becoming a center,” he added.
“One cannot be absolutely sure how President Trump will behave. I think he has more experience. The people who will staff the State Department know the region very well. They have traditionally been close to the entrenched Greek positions,” he noted.
Mitsotakis, responding to criticism of Europe for its involvement in the war in Ukraine, replied, “How can it not be involved when the war is about Europe?”
“Greece, compared to where it was five years ago, is a country that is economically and geopolitically stronger, has gone on to strengthen traditional alliances and build new ones, is a country whose opinion counts much more in Europe, and has managed to take advantage of soft power by building an image of a modern country,” he said.
Mitsotakis also referred to Greece’s strategic relationship with India, which he said is a rising superpower and a natural competitor to China. “It will also play a very important and geopolitically balancing role,” he pointed out.
