“Turkey uses immigrants as a tool, it is a hybrid threat”, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasised among others – in his statements to the Council on Foreign Relations in the USA and specifically, in New York where he is for the UN General Assembly, while he did not miss to also refer to the elections, noting that whatever happens, “the country will be governed”.
Referring to the Turkish provocation, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: “What I can tell you is that I have always sought a constructive relationship with Turkey. Three years ago I told him to make a new beginning. Then he signed an EEZ agreemnet with Libya that ignores the existence of Greek islands, a geographical paradox. Then we have the instrumentalisation of immigrants, the dispute of our islands.”
The made wondered during his remarks how relations between the two countries could improve if Turkey insisted on such behaviours. As he pointed out, “it is difficult for me to imagine how the relationship between the two countries will recover as long as Turkey behaves like this. But, if Turkey continues on this path, it will isolate itself from both Europe and the US. And if Turkey wants to “play” in another sphere of influence, so be it, but it is a member of NATO. And it is the only NATO country that does not impose sanctions on Russia,” repeating that “I am always open to solving problems through dialogue, Mr. Erdogan does not want to talk to me. But I’ve heard it before and we ended up talking. I will continue to persevere that there is only one framework of rules for the resolution of disputes, international law, and international maritime law. But it doesn’t solve differences with aggressive behavior and the restoration of imperial fantasies, but also inflammatory rhetoric.”
Referring to energy, he said: “The price of gas in the EU is absurd given what is happening. The market is now distorted, the price has gone up 10 times. What is on everyone’s mind is how we will support households and businesses and how we will diversify energy sources. Russia is not a reliable supplier and we want to become independent of Russian gas.”
The PM added: “On energy, we have not reacted with the same aggression. We hope the EU will do more. I can’t express any clearer how difficult this winter is going to be with these gas prices. We have implemented a mechanism for taxing the excess profits of companies. The EU has reviewed our scheme and is suggesting other countries do the same. We need to maintain social cohesion, that is why I am pushing for a bolder intervention in the gas market, we should impose caps on all sources of gas. At the moment it is a one-way street, more and more countries are realising the need for such an intervention”.
