Mitsotakis urges respect for allies' concerns at NATO

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the NATO summit in Ankara that the sensitivities of all allies should be taken into account, Greek public broadcaster ERT reported on Wednesday.

Asked by reporters about US President Donald Trump's suggestion that Turkiye could rejoin the F-35 fighter jet programme, Mitsotakis stressed that "the alliance must be based on the fundamental principle of goodneighbourly relations". He warned that Greece would face an "open threat of war" from Turkiye, if Athens were to exercise its right to expand its territorial waters, CE Report quotes BTA.

"Ultimately, we are a defence alliance, and I am sure that these outstanding issues can be resolved in the spirit of goodneighbourly relations and in the spirit of cooperation," the Greek Prime Minister said.

Greek media reported on Wednesday that Mitsotakis' comments come amid renewed debate over Turkiye's possible return to the US F-35 programme, after Ankara was excluded from the initiative over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system. According to the publications, the issue raises concerns in Greece about the military balance in the Eastern Mediterranean and its broader implications for NATO.

In Ankara, the Greek Prime Minister said that his country was already meeting NATO's target of 3.5% of gross domestic product spending on defence, as well as implementing a programme to modernize its armed forces worth a total of EUR 25 billion. He added that Greece is now among the top five NATO Member States in defence spending.

Mitsotakis expressed hope that the truce between Iran and the United States would hold. He added that diplomacy needs time to lower the tensions.

Photo: Instagram