The last two months were complicated and full of challenges, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in statements on the radio of ‘Monocle’ and the show Foreign Desk by Andrew Mueller on Saturday.
“The last two months were complicated and full of challenges. But in every crisis, I would say, I want to see possible opportunities,” Mitsotakis said, describing developments lately as a sudden wake-up call for the European Union, especially for those supporting Europe’s strategic autonomy, like Greece. He expressed his satisfaction that some progress had been made at the decisions taken by the European Council.
“We always spent over 2% of our GDP for defense. This argument was expressed by President Trump in 2017, therefore that is not something new. Europe is not in a position currently to replace NATO and the US’ major role within the Alliance, in terms of our collective security,” he said. “Therefore, we must undeniably work very hard to keep the United States within this framework, recognizing at the same time that we must do more to protect ourselves. I believe we are moving in this direction. Maybe not at the rate I wish, but there surely has been progress,” he added.
Asked to comment about Greek-Turkish relations, the Greek premier said “it is a complicated relationship. I believe however that at the end of the day two things must be met – on one hand, that Greece must have a very reliable deterrent force in terms of defending our sovereignty and our sovereign rights. This is the reson we are investing heavily in updating our Armed Forces.”
At the same time, he underlined, the second goal is to lay out the paths toward building a more productive relationship, despite the heart of the differences with Turkiye – the maritime zone delimitation in the Aegean and the East Mediterranean – but there has not been great progress.
“Therefore, even if we agree that we disagree on important issues, this does not mean that conditions of tension should always exist, nor does it mean we cannot explore opportunitie to strengthen our relationship in other fronts. And of course this calls for sincere and open channels of communicaiton, which I think we have created with Turkiye at all levels. I believe it is important, even when we disagree, to be able to talk openly,” Mitsotakis stressed.
In terms of the Greek-American relations, the PM said that Greece has a strategic partnership with the United States that supercedes the current presidents, and he pointed out, “It is a partnership I want to cultivate and strengthen.” The current Greek-US defense agreement will come up for renewal in 2026, he noted, adding that “my purpose is to renew it.”
