What did the Prime Minister say about the tie with the Turkish president
The message that “Greece is shielding its armed forces, as it has to do”, as well as that domestic defense spending will also have a clear development impulse as the aim is to create a defense ecosystem in Greece has been transmitted by the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakisat the press conference he provided after the completion of work of the NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Indeed, the prime minister revealed that on the sidelines of the Synod he had a brief conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “We raised the issues we had to raise and we are waiting for a date for the implementation of the Supreme Cooperation Council of Greece.”
Asked, even if Athens is concerned about the reunion, which is being attempted between Turkey and the US, Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted in mind that “our country is not heterogeneous, I cannot comment on the meeting of Mr Trump and Erdogan.”
The prime minister pointed out that during his intervention he had the opportunity to place himself in what was happening in the wider Middle East area. Specifically for the Israel -Iran conflict, Mr Mitsotakis emphasized the need for the parties involved in negotiations, but also to not acquire Iran nuclear arsenal.
In addition, and in his intervention, the Greek prime minister had the opportunity to condemn the recent terrorist attack on a Christian church in Damascus. Regarding the NATO summit decision to increase defense spending, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that in an alliance everyone must participate in the way they are appropriate and recalled “at a time when Greece faces financial difficulties, many countries were shaking their finger in Greece, and then 2% of Greece. We make our debt to alliance and citizens. Our goal is not to spend money that will go to our partners abroad, but to develop an ecosystem of defense industry in the country. “
Asked about the situation in Libya, Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated that the Turkolibyy Memorandum is unacceptable, illegal and non -existent, and that it produces no legal effect, a position that Athens would ask to be re -included in its conclusions. Asked about the increase in migration flows from Libya to Crete, the prime minister noted that “the issue is not simply concerned, but we have taken specific measures. I contacted the last Sunday with European Commission President Ursula von der Laien, and it is characteristic that the issue was included in her established letter to European leaders before any European Council.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis made it clear that “Greece will use the means at its disposal to be able to make life extremely difficult for traffickers, who want to carry oppressed people to Crete extremely difficult. And that is why we will send ships of the Navy outside Libya’s territorial waters, so that we can send a clear message to these traffickers that we are not a vineyard and that the wolf cannot be enjoyed in the breeze. I will also ask to work with the Libyan authorities so that these boats do not even leave the coast of Libya or if they sail to return to the Libyan coast while they are within the country’s territorial waters. Finally, and asked how the US is facing Article 5 of the NATO Charter, the prime minister spoke of a “discussion of a shadow” and insisted that “I heard President Trump in his speech being fully committed to the core of the alliance. The US president was right when he was pressuring other countries to spend more on defense. “