×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Tuesday
20
Jan 2026
weather symbol
Athens 7°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Politics

Erdogan disrupts NATO unity amid Putin’s threat to European security

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan negotiates political gains with NATO's expansion

Newsroom May 27 11:14

Internal NATO relations have become increasingly strained following Turkey’s apparent refusal to allow Sweden and Finland into the fold, with fellow NATO member Greece becoming the latest European nation on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s chopping block.

Erdogan took a swing at Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis this week when he accused him of attempting to block a U.S. arms sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.

“There’s no longer anyone called Mitsotakis in my book,” he told reporters following a Monday cabinet meeting.

The Turkish president also said he would refuse to meet his Greek counterpart for a previously planned summit later this year.

Erdogan’s comments came a week after the Greek prime minister met with U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill and urged them to consider NATO’s security when making “defense procurement decisions concerning the eastern Mediterranean.”

“We are always open to dialogue. But there is only one framework we can use to resolve our differences – international law and the unwritten principle of good neighborly relations,” Mitsotakis told U.S. lawmakers. “The last thing that NATO needs at a time when our focus is on helping Ukraine defeat Russia’s aggression is another source of instability on NATO’s southeastern flank.”

See Also:

Turkey launches military incursion into Northern Syria

The Greek prime minister did not mention Erdogan or neighboring Ankara, but his comments alluded to a long-standing spat with Turkey over alleged airspace violations.

>Related articles

Mitsotakis to Tasoulas: I bring you news of turbulent times – Let us avoid the worst in EU–US relations

Greece revokes asylum from Palestinian who celebrated the massacres in Israel alongside Hamas terrorists

“Greenland US territory from 2026”: Trump’s new message, dressing it in the flags of America and Canada

Turkey and Greece, both of whom are NATO members, have shared a complex relationship for more than a century. But Athens and Ankara’s latest tiff amid Russia’s aggression in Europe could spell trouble for the very military alliance that Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to see dismantled.

“All nations act in their own self-interest, all the time,” Michael Ryan, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO, told Fox News. “[Erdogan] defines the Turkish self-interests and he defines how they pursue it. And in this case, he views Turkey as a rising regional power, and he is pushing hard in every direction to certain Turkish prerogatives.”

Read more: Fox News

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#cyprus#diplomacy#eu#europe#Finland#greece#Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis#invasion#Joe Biden#NATO#politics#russia#Russian President Vladimir Putin#security#Stability#sweden#turkey#Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan#ukraine#usa#war#world
> More Politics

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Greece revokes asylum from Palestinian who celebrated the massacres in Israel alongside Hamas terrorists

January 20, 2026

“Greenland US territory from 2026”: Trump’s new message, dressing it in the flags of America and Canada

January 20, 2026

Broken tracks under scrutiny after deadly train collision in Spain: Death toll reaches 40

January 20, 2026

The Left in shock over President Maria…of Niki (Lord have mercy), Brussels eats up Davos, “for sale” signs in IT, Marios shops from Attica

January 20, 2026

Record number of retirement applications in 2025: January, July, and September saw the most filings — The three reasons behind the mass exit

January 20, 2026

Kurds of Northern Syria: Is being a reliable ally out of fashion?

January 20, 2026

The showdown over Greenland escalates: Trump has the tariffs, Europe the “trade bazooka”

January 20, 2026

Political storm over Karystianou’s statement on abortions: The reactions, the “camps,” and the relatives

January 20, 2026
All News

> Greece

Greek satellites capture Frigate Kimon arriving in Greece from space

Five Greek microsatellites now in orbit under the National Microsatellite Programme as Greece moves from planning to implementation

January 20, 2026

Why are people selecting digital detox and feeling happier

January 20, 2026

Princess Irene was buried at Tatoi in a private family ceremony – Queen Sofia was devastated

January 19, 2026

Eurovision 2026: What the betting odds suggest about Greece’s song choice

January 19, 2026

Severe weather and biting cold across the country – What the “Aegean Sea Effect” is, which brings heavy snow to coastal areas and dangerous storms

January 19, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα