PM says Greece open to dialogue with Turkey, despite provocations
A day after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan issued a thinly-veiled threat to take military action against Greece, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his country is open to a dialogue with the neighboring country.
“Greece never provokes, it always responds with confidence when provoked,” Mitsotakis said as EU leaders prepared to meet in Prague on Friday.
“It does not make sense to accuse Greece of raising the tension in the Aegean when Turkey even raises issues of the sovereignty of the islands,” he said.
Nevertheless, the Greek leaders said that “Greece is not closing the door to dialogue,” adding that “we are sure that we have international law on our side.”
In a press conference at the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community on Thursday, the Turkish strongman said “We have nothing to discuss with Greece,” accusing Athens of basing its policy on “lies.”
Erdogan also said Athens understood Ankara’s repeated warning that “we may suddenly arrive one night.”
On Friday, the Greek leader also referred to controversial comments made by Erdogan during dinner at the Prague gathering on Thursday evening. “It was a first-class opportunity for even my colleagues who do not know enough about the subject to understand who is the one who provokes and raises the tone and which country confidently defends its rights,” Mitsotakis said.
