“Anyone who believes that Greece will be able to stop US arms sales to Turkey forever does not fully understand, in my view, the true balance of power,” said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Athens
Mitsotakis spoke with SKAI FM and assessed Greek domestic policy and Turkish-Greek relations.Mitsotakis said he wanted to complete his four-year term and had not called early elections.
After taking office, Mitsotakis commented on the development of bilateral relations and said Turkey has two paths to go.
“If (Turkey) wants to get closer to Europe, it can not only escalate tensions, but also stop questioning the sovereignty and sovereign rights of European countries,” Mitsotakis said. If he chooses another path, he will move further away from European views and, no doubt, from the impact on EU-Turkey relations. will. ‘, not announced.
Misotakis said he does not expect tensions in relations between Turkey and Greece this summer similar to those experienced in the summer of 2020, recalling his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in March, and Anne’s meeting in a positive atmosphere.
“As long as Turkey continues to question Greece’s sovereignty, it is unlikely to improve Turkish-Greek relations,” Mitsotakis said. he says.
Referring to his visit to the USA, Miçotakis used the following statements regarding the positive approach of US President Joe Biden to Turkey’s purchase of F-16s from the USA:
“Anyone who thinks that Greece can forever block the US arms sale to Turkey, I don’t think, fully understands the real balance of power. I think what we have accomplished? Especially to the US Congress, that arms sales to a NATO member country that is now a source of instability in NATO’s southeast flank,” he said. , (we succeeded) in explaining that the US is not in its own interests.”
Mitsotakis argued that after this point, the US’s decisions on arms sales depended on an extremely complex, long-term and bureaucratic process, and that the Congress was not willing to sell arms to Turkey at the moment unless Turkey changed its behavior.
“We do not desire an isolated Turkey”
Stating that Greece does not desire an isolated Turkey in the international arena, Miçotakis noted that there is no reason why Turkey and Greece should not be very good friends. Mitsotakis said he believed Greece could be a bridge between Europe and Turkey, “but it’s not up to us, it’s up to Turkey.”
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