Turkey must abandon ‘illegal actions,’ Mitsotakis tells EUMED9
Turkey must abandon its “illegal actions” against Cyprus and Greece, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told EU colleagues on Thursday.
“Our fundamental priority is security and stability under international law and the Convention on the Law of the Sea. This also applies to Turkey, which must abandon illegal actions against Cyprus and Greece,” he told the opening of a summit of the EU’s Mediterranean countries in Athens
Turkey’s actions were “yet another factor which underscores the need for Europe’s strategic autonomy, and also highlights it as a necessary goal,” he said, adding that Greece would be at the forefront in securing that goal.
Referring to the statement issued by the leaders attending the EUMed9 summit, Mitsotakis said that “our declaration is also clear regarding hybrid threats, in this case the instrumentalization of the migration issue, which acquires a special dimension due to recent developments in Afghanistan.”
“We will not allow the recurrence of the phenomenon of uncontrolled migration flows that we experienced in 2015,” he continued.
Addressing last summer’s “catastrophic fires,” Mitsotakis noted that it did “not leave any Mediterranean country unscathed, while northern countries were hit by deadly floods.”
He said Greece and its partners were working together to protect their forests and seas and to develop a stronger civil protection mechanism.
They are also working on tackling rising natural gas prices together, “as they have an impact on electricity costs across all countries.”
Mitsotakis also underlined the importance of pushing ahead with economic progress while increasing the vaccination rate.
[ANA-MPA]
