In the very good course of the economy, on energy issues, as well as on relations with Turkey and Tayyip Erdogan, Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred during a discussion he had with Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker, on the sidelines of the High-Level Week of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

One day after the postponement of his meeting with the Turkish president in New York, the Prime Minister stressed that “having an open channel of communication with Turkey does not mean that we agree on all issues.”

“I have met President Erdogan seven times since I became Prime Minister. They were not always easy meetings, but I always advocate for keeping open channels of communication with Turkey and discussing problems openly.”

“As for Chevron (which has formally expressed interest in hydrocarbon exploration south of Crete), we have nothing to discuss with Turkey, honestly. We are exercising our sovereign rights south of Crete, this is recognized by Chevron, and we will continue on the same path,” the Prime Minister commented, adding characteristically: “If what we are doing causes some discomfort in Turkey, so be it. C’est la vie, as the French would say.”

“But we will continue to engage with them constructively and try to find projects of mutual interest,” he went on.

“Since we talked about tourism,” he noted, “we welcomed more than 100,000 Turks to the islands of the Eastern Aegean, because we granted them entry with an express visa. And this is, for example, a citizen-level project that demonstrates that when it comes to our relations as peoples, we can build on this relationship to resolve…”

At this point he was interrupted by Emma Tucker, who had earlier mentioned that she vacationed in Greece, to note: “At the hotel where I was staying there was also an energetic Turkish family, so…”
“I know many Turks who chose Greece for their holidays, and they are welcome,” responded Mr. Mitsotakis.