Germany dubbed the illegal overflights of Turkish jets over Greek airspace as counterproductive on Wednesday in Berlin.

The statement comes at a time when tensions between Greece and Turkey are on the rise after PM Mitsotakis briefed his German colleague on the Turkish map called “Blueland” which demonstrates the expansionist intentions of Turkey.

The remark by the representative of Chancellor Olaf Scholz indicates a clear reversal of the equidistant policy Germany had adopted for the Greek-Turkish relations.

The representative of Chancellery was asked by a Greek media (Open TV) about the stance of the German government towards Ankara, in light of its aggression against Greece, as well as what the German chancellor and Kyriakos Mitsotakis said about this issue at their meeting yesterday in Brussels.

“The chancellor (Olaf Scholz) is of the opinion that, especially in the current situation, it is imperative that all NATO allies be united, and refrain from provoking each other. The violation of Greek airspace and the overflights of Greek islands is not right. And it seems counterproductive and against the spirit of the Alliance to close the door on talks with other allies,” said Deputy Government Spokesman Wolfgang Buchner, referring to the Chancellor’s talks with the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

“It is in the interest of all of us to treat each other in the Alliance with respect and to ensure good and lasting relations. For this issue, solutions for outstanding matters through dialogue and in the spirit of good neighbourliness must be sought together,” Buchner added.

These statements are a clear reversal of Berlin which last week had kept equal distances between Greece and Turkey, despite the barrage of violations of Greek airspace. Specifically, the representative of the chancellery, Stephen Hempstrait, called last Wednesday Greece and Turkey “to bridge the differences between them”, a statement that was interpreted by many as keeping equal distances between the two countries.

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