Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis made reference to the verbal altercation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday night at the Prague Summit when he was challenged, arriving at Friday’s meeting.
As the Greek Prime Minister pointed out, “Greece never provokes, it always responds with confidence when provoked” adding that “I had the opportunity in front of the leaders to repeat what I said at the UN General Assembly”.
“It does not make sense to accuse Greece of raising the tension in the Aegean when Turkey even raises issues of the sovereignty of the islands” added Kyriakos Mitsotakis who emphasised that “it is impossible to defuse as long as this rhetoric continues”.
Nevertheless, Mitsotakis noted that “Greece is not closing the door to dialogue” stressing that “we are sure that we have international law on our side”.
As the Greek Prime Minister explained about what happened on Thursday night at the leaders’ dinner at the Prague Summit, “it was a first-class opportunity for even my colleagues who do not know enough about the subject to understand who is the one who provokes and raises the tone and which country confidently defends its rights”.
Erdogan arrived in Prague hoping to platform his baseless claims but was disappointed both at the security panel, which he participated in, and in the bilateral contacts, which he had throughout yesterday, according to information, from the Greek side.
The mood he received from his interlocutors was the recommendation to stop this specific tactic and follow the path of dialogue on the basis of International Law, according to the same sources.
The Greek delegation was aware that he had asked to speak during the dinner. During his intervention, he appeared negative regarding the EU’s handling of Turkey, and, contrary to the etiquette in such cases he attacked Greece.
