Regarding the rhetorical outbursts of the Turkish President, the Prime Minister emphasized that he is not going to follow in the style and tones, estimating that the moment will come again when communication between the two leaders will be restored.
By Penelope Galliou
The tactics that Athens will continue to follow in the face of the Turkish challenges and the red lines that keep Turkey in front of us, the Prime Minister unfolded Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the interview he gave on SKAI radio. One week after the NATO Summit, where Mr Tayyip Erdogan “swallowed his tongue” and with it the absurd claims and complaints against Greece, but inside Turkey the merry-go-round of challenges continues, Kyriakos Mitsotakis insisted that the only way to resolve the one and only dispute with his neighbors is the International Fair enough. A message that now rings repeatedly towards Ankara, except from the side of Athens and from the other side of the Atlantic and of course from the European institutions and partners.
Alert
Speaking to journalists Vassilis Chiotis and Pavlos Tsimas, Kyriakos Mitsotakis estimated that the tension of 2020 with Turkey will not be repeated, declaring, however, that Greece is ready and has the deterrent power to defend its sovereignty.
“We are on full alert, obviously we have a lot of confidence in defending our positions, but I don’t think we will have a summer of similar intensity on the field to the one we had in the summer of 2020” noted the prime minister while adding that “We want to be ready to defend our sovereignty by investing in a strong deterrent force, we want to have a strong framework of alliances and we want to agree that the way to resolve our disputes cannot be other than International Law “.
The background of the meeting between Mitsotakis and Erdogan
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, revealed the background of his infamous meeting in Istanbul in March, with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stressing that he himself was clear on the issues of sovereignty and sovereign rights of our country. “A meeting that took place in a good atmosphere, but I was clear with President Erdogan. There is not going to be any improvement in Greek-Turkish relations as long as there is still an open questioning of Greek sovereignty by Turkey. I told him clearly that I am not going to accept overflights above Greek islands, nor can I accept an argument that links Greek sovereignty over the eastern Aegean islands with their alleged militarization. I was very clear on that and very clear. And if Mr. Erdogan did not understand what I said, why ‘ that’s not my fault. And a month later we had a barrage of overflights over the Greek islands. Maybe Mr. Erdogan didn’t realize how much I insist on this line” assessed the Greek prime minister.
In fact, once again Mr. Mitsotakis, on the occasion of the “verbal ups and downs” and the rhetorical outbursts of the Turkish President, stated that he is not going to follow the style and tones, considering that the moment will come again when the communication between the two leaders. “I cannot watch this tension because I know very well that at some point we will talk again with Turkey. I will talk again with President Erdogan as long as he is still the president of Turkey. It is illegal to do that. And we will leave it, we will let’s forget the “Mitsotakis yoke” which I remind you we heard after Evros”.
F16 – the estimates
However, when asked about the sale of American F-16s to Turkey, the prime minister emphasized that it would depend on Ankara’s behavior, recalling that “decisions on the sale of defense material by the United States are extremely complex, they are long-term, they are bureaucratic and in every case congressional approval is required in order to sell any weapons system to any country. And I will repeat what I have said publicly that right now Congress does not seem willing to sell weapons systems to Turkey until, I stress, Turkey changes its behavior “.
An assessment that coincides with the opinion of the executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, Eddie Zemenidis, who, speaking on “First Program”, expressed the belief that “Mr. Biden, in order to secure Sweden and Finland, uses rhetoric that Erdogan likes, but let’s see what his actions are. The American president and the State Department have not put any pressure on Congress for the F-16s, even though they are discussing it, even though they say yes officially,” Mr. Zemenidis also emphasized. In conclusion, he estimated that Mr. Biden, if he acted alone, would not “give” the upgrade of the F-16s to Turkey “as Mr. Erdogan wants”, noting that without a change in policy from the Turkish leadership, the Turkish president would not he will get what he wants.
Greek-American contacts
In the context of the uninterrupted contacts of the Prime Minister and members of the Greek Government with foreign delegations and the continuation of the internationalization of Turkish provocation, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs had meetings with a delegation of American Parliamentarians who visited our country. The two sides exchanged views on the results of the NATO Summit in Madrid and expressed satisfaction with the clear messages of condemnation of revisionism and adherence to the principles of International Law. In this context, the Prime Minister analyzed the challenges in the eastern Mediterranean to the American parliamentarians and presented the whole range of Greek-Turkish relations and the issue of Turkish provocation, while Nikos Dendias also showed maps of Turkish provocation. It is worth mentioning that the member of parliament and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Gregory Meeks, speaking with Kyriakos Mitsotakis, congratulated him on his speech in Congress. “I have been in Congress for 24 years. The message you sent that day, in the times when we live in, and given the relationship between the US and Greece regarding the question of democracy, which unfortunately – in 2022 – is facing risks, it was extremely important,” remarked the American congressman. An observation that takes on an even greater dimension given that the next stop of the American delegation will be Turkey.
New message Borel
The EU’s High Representative for Internal Affairs, Josep Borrell, once again contributed to Turkey’s attempt to reason, calling on Turkey – on the occasion of a related question from MEP Manolis Kefalogiannis – to stop the threats and respect the sovereignty of the member states of the European Union. In his answer, Mr. Borel once again absolutely condemns the provocative actions of Turkey and is in solidarity with our country for the provocative and aggressive actions of the Turkish side. Specifically, he points out that Turkey’s provocative actions are a source of concern and a clear violation of International Law. It emphasizes that the European Commission has expressed its willingness to work with Turkey to strengthen cooperation, in a gradual, proportionate and reversible manner, in various areas of common interest on the condition that Turkey refrains from new provocations or unilateral actions in violation of International Law. And he concludes: “The European Union will continue to demand that Turkey cease all threats and actions that damage good neighborly relations and respect the sovereignty of all EU member states over their territorial waters and airspace. “.
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