Greek premier says Greece, Türkiye not enemies but neighbors

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Friday that Greece is not Türkiye's enemy but a neighbor.

"I would like to address not just the Turkish leadership, but also the Turkish people directly with this message. Greece poses no threat to your country. We are not your enemies. We're neighbors. We value the many friendships between ordinary Greeks and Turks," Mitsotakis said in his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York.

He said the vast majority in both countries do not want political conflict and hostility.

"So let us move forward in a spirit of cooperation and friendship with mutual respect, and in accordance with international law," he said.

Mitsotakis shared a portion of his speech to the General Assembly in Turkish in a Twitter post.

- 'Important contribution to global food security'

Stressing the importance of Türkiye in his speech, he said Türkiye is "a NATO member, which can be a partner and ally of Greece and the European Union if it so chooses. Türkiye has the capacity to play a constructive role."

He described Ankara's role in the deal between Kyiv and Moscow that enabled grain exports from Ukraine as "an important contribution to global food security.”

"But at the same time, Türkiye continues to play a destabilizing role in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Caucasus, and also the only NATO country not implementing sanctions against Russia."

Recalling Erdogan's remarks, saying: "As we say, all of a sudden, we can come overnight," Mitsotakis said: "This is a language of an aggressor, not a peacemaker."

He defined Türkiye's narratives on the Aegean Sea as "false claims," and said the situation has continued since the Kardak crisis.

A decades-long dispute between Turkey and Greece about the uninhabited Kardak islets brought the two countries to the brink of armed conflict in 1996.

"Türkiye's claims over the sovereignty of Greece's islands are baseless and unacceptable," he added.