Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis gave an interview on SKAI’s evening news with Sia Kossioni, focusing on foreign policy, migration, defense, and domestic issues.

On Greek-Turkish Relations:

• “We don’t seek mediators in our disputes with Turkey,” Mitsotakis stressed.
• As long as Turkey maintains its “casus belli” (threat of war), it will not be allowed to join the EU’s SAFE defense program.
• “We invite Libya to negotiate with Greece on the delimitation of the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).”
• “There is no issue of Greek islands being disputed,” he emphasized.
• Greece will never accept the notion of “gray zones” or allow Turkey to dictate what it can or cannot do in areas of Greek sovereignty.
• On maritime parks: they extend across Greek territorial waters, which are determined by the islands themselves.
• “In chess, I prefer to play white— to take the initiative,” he added, referring to his active foreign policy.
• “Many of the current tensions are reactions to Greece’s own initiatives.”

He contrasted his approach to previous governments’ passivity, asserting:

“We reject the doctrine of inertia and acceptance of faits accomplis with an active foreign policy—even if it provokes.”

• He noted a lack of any major Greek-Turkish diplomatic initiative between 2004 and 2009.
• “Twitter diplomacy is easy,” he quipped.
• Again invited Libya’s Tripoli government to engage in talks on maritime boundaries.

On Migration:

• Greece cannot tolerate mass illegal migration, and will do everything within international law to prevent it.
• New policy: Migrants who step onto EU soil are essentially detained.
• Greece wants to send a clear message to smugglers and migrants that arriving here won’t mean easy entry.
• He criticized Turkey’s manipulation of Libya, saying: “Libya must choose. Turkey is clearly using it as a tool.”
• He reminded that in 2020, Greece stopped an organized migrant incursion from Turkey.
• Emphasized the difficulty of maritime border defense, asking rhetorically: “Is anyone seriously proposing we sink boats in the open sea? I hope not.”
• He denounced previous “blessed inertia” and said Greece must fight for its national interests.

On an undersea cable project:

• It will go ahead without needing approval from any coastal state.
• Turkey cannot expect closer ties with Europe while trying to block an EU infrastructure project.

On the SAFE Defense Program:

• Turkey cannot join SAFE without unanimity.
• As long as it maintains casus belli and disputes gray zones, Greece will block it.
• Mitsotakis said Greece has enhanced its deterrent capability and can impose conditions, even if it can’t block Turkey’s own armament plans.

On US Relations:

Greece must stand on its own feet and doesn’t look for mediators in its disputes with Turkey.

On OPEKEPE (Greek Payment Authority for EU Subsidies):

• Mitsotakis acknowledged longstanding problems with cross-checking subsidies.
• Called OPEKEPE a chronic, political, and social issue, noting 40 years of dependency on EU funds.
• Cases are already being tried in court, independent of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
• Decision to dissolve OPEKEPE came before the EU investigation.
• Since reforms failed, it was merged with the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) to improve transparency and oversight.
• “The party’s over” on subsidies, he said bluntly.
• Audits have already begun, starting with those who got the most money, not small beneficiaries: “We’ll begin with those dancing in the center of the floor, not those on the edges.”