Greek PM briefs German chancellor on Turkish escalation
Seeking to secure firmer support from Berlin, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis outlined Athens’ concerns over the recent escalation in Turkish rhetoric and actions during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, held on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels on Tuesday.
According to government sources quoted by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), Mitsotakis presented Scholz with the details of recent Turkish violations of Greece’s national airspace and an unauthorized flight over the northeastern Greek mainland. He also stressed Ankara’s increasingly aggressive tone by referring to recent disparaging or incendiary comments by top Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The AMNA also reported that Mitsotakis presented Scholz with a map outlining Turkey’s expansionist aspirations, as encompassed by the so-called “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which lays claims over large parts of Greek territory.
The Greek prime minister’s meeting with the German chancellor came after Berlin on Monday appeared reluctant to condemn Turkey’s recent actions, choosing instead to call for “dialogue between the two sides” and saying that it was “monitoring the situation closely.”
Turkey’s recent stance, the Greek prime minister stressed in his talks with Scholz, undermines stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
