Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Greek delegation returned yesterday afternoon from Ankara, having made clear statements on both Turkey’s casus belli threat and defense procurement, while also signaling a desire to avoid a renewed escalation of tensions with Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to convey a similar message in his evening remarks. However, he described as a mistake what he called Mr. Mitsotakis’ “alignment” with Benjamin Netanyahu, referring to the issue of F-35 fighter jets in response to a question from a Turkish journalist.

Nevertheless, a Greek government source emphasized that Mr. Mitsotakis had said nothing that could be interpreted as interference in the ongoing U.S.–Turkey discussions over fighter aircraft. He merely pointed out the obvious—that significant legal obstacles currently remain.

On the contrary, Mr. Mitsotakis stressed that Greece cannot tell any country to whom it should sell military equipment. He also noted that Greek pilots will begin training next year on fifth-generation fighter aircraft and that Greece expects to receive its first F-35 by the end of 2029.

In other words, Greece does not intend to become involved in debates over what military equipment Turkey should or should not receive, since Greece itself is proceeding with its own planned defense acquisitions.

Against this backdrop, Athens does not appear inclined to engage in a rhetorical confrontation with its neighbor, even though it clearly raised the issue of Turkey’s casus belli at the NATO level, regardless of Ankara’s displeasure.

It was notable that in his evening remarks, Mr. Erdogan claimed, more or less, that Turks do not even know what casus belli means, adding that the peoples of the two countries should not concern themselves with the issue.

At the same time, however, Mr. Erdogan is expected to introduce legislation in the coming period relating to the “Blue Homeland” (Mavi Vatan) doctrine, from which he has shown no intention of retreating.

By contrast, Mr. Mitsotakis described Turkey’s longstanding threat of war as “a historical anachronism.” It was the second time in just a few months that he had raised the issue while in Ankara, following his earlier call during the High-Level Greece–Turkey Cooperation Council for Turkey to formally revoke the threat.

NATO Summit Without Major Confrontations

In any event, officials in Athens regard the NATO Summit as a positive development, since it concluded without major provocations from the United States and without significant criticism from President Donald Trump toward European leaders behind closed doors after the cameras stopped rolling.

Combined with commitments to further strengthen support for Ukraine and increase defense investment by €50 billion to bolster NATO’s military capabilities, the Alliance appears to have passed another important test of unity with relatively little friction—at least from a European perspective.

Regarding Turkey, Mr. Mitsotakis likewise appears to have little interest in creating new tensions at this stage, a position that seems to be shared by Mr. Erdogan.

The two leaders held a brief one-on-one meeting yesterday around midday at the opening of the NATO Summit, in the presence of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. During the meeting, Mr. Mitsotakis thanked Mr. Erdogan for the hospitality and the successful organization of the summit.

According to people with whom he later spoke, Mr. Mitsotakis also remarked that diplomatic protocol had been followed impeccably, despite comments that had circulated regarding the Janissary ceremonial band that performed during the leaders’ reception at the NATO summit dinner.