The Greek prime minister has said that he does not see war on the horizon with neighboring Turkey, despite threats from the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Reuters reported on Sunday.
Mitsotakis said he was open to talking to the Turkish president while speaking to reporters at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), suggesting Prague as a neutral spot for the sit-down, the agency said.
The Greek prime minister’s remarks arrive as Erdoğan has been dialling up his rhetoric against Greece, saying earlier this month that Turkey could “come suddenly one night,” and threatening a “heavy price’’ should the neighbouring country “go too far.”
The comments were linked to Ankara’s accusation that Greece is occupying demilitarised islands in the Aegean Sea, a claim Athens denies.
NATO members Turkey and Greece have long been at odds over a string of issues, including territorial claims in the Aegean Sea and disagreements over the airspace there. Tensions have been escalating in recent months over the eastern Mediterranean and the islands of the Aegean, where Greek and Turkish claims overlap.
Mitsotakis on Sunday said he can’t even imagine a military confrontation with Turkey, Kathimerini newspaper reported, but added that Greece would deliver a punishing response should the need arise for it.
“I consider recent statements by the Turkish president unacceptable,” Mitsotakis told a news conference in the northern city of Thessaloniki. “However, we will always try to keep communication channels open,” he said, adding he has been always willing to meet the Turkish leader..
On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu echoed Erdoğan’s threats against Greece.
“The Greeks still have an itch to scratch. If you set out on an adventure on behalf of others, you will suffer the consequences, as in the past. This is a warning to Greece,” state-run Anadolu news agency cited the top Turkish diplomat as saying.
“Gather your senses, wake up. This is primarily for Greece. Do not become instruments of others, do not continue provoking us. Turkey’s friendship is good, but its enmity is tragic,” he added.
Greece responded to the remarks, with government spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou saying that Ankara’s threats were being created for domestic consumption, Kathimerini reported.
“We give Ankara’s rhetorical frenzy the attention it deserves,” said Oikonomou, adding that it is “for domestic consumption or part of an effort to construct a reality that is based on fallacies.”
Meanwhile, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party accused Erdoğan and Mitsotakis of stoking tensions in a bid to gain more support.
“They are both losing support. As such, the two populists are pulling out the war card,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said in a Twitter post on Sunday.
Ahval