PM says Greece-Turkey can agree to disagree on territorial disputes

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis gave an interview to the American network CNN on Wednesday, in the context of his presence in New York for the UN General Assembly and shortly before he met with the president of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan.

“Greece and Turkey have perennial difficulties, but this does not mean that the two countries cannot cooperate in other areas,” said Mitsotakis, ahead of his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mitsotakis noted that “we have big differences but we will try to solve them through international law and the law of the sea.” He spoke of common challenges, such as civil protection and climate change.

“We can agree to disagree on territorial matters. We can cooperate in other areas, that’s what I would like to achieve in my meeting with Erdogan,” he insisted.

Referring to the economy, he said it was doing very well, adding that “we were able to stand on our feet” while talking about a record in tourism. However, as he added, the country was affected by floods and fires.

“You can be sure that I will be shouting louder than anyone that we need to spend more money as an E.U. to deal with climate change,” he emphasized. He spoke of a global alliance and the trillions of euros that will be needed to tackle climate change.

Asked if the extreme weather phenomena will affect tourism, he said that “there will always be people who want to enjoy the Mediterranean sun, in the summer of Greece”, while noting that the tourist season has already started to expand.

Mitsotakis is scheduled to meet with Erdogan on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on the sidelines of the UN assembly in New York.