Mitsotakis: “Greece Still Faces an Open War Threat From Turkey”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered a pointed message at the NATO Summit in Ankara on Thursday, saying Turkey's open war threat against Greece cannot be ignored while allies discuss F-35 deliveries and deepening US-Turkey ties.
Asked to comment on statements by Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding F-35 jets and the American-Turkish relationship, Mitsotakis declined to address them directly. Instead, he said a defensive alliance must be built on good neighborly relations, and that "the sensitivities of all NATO allies must be taken into account." He noted that Greece continues to face what he called an open threat of war from Turkey if it exercises its legal right to extend its territorial waters.
"The sensitivities of all NATO allies must be taken into account" — Mitsotakis
Mitsotakis announced that Greece has already hit NATO's 3.5% of GDP defense spending target this year, ahead of schedule, placing it among the top five spenders in the alliance. Greece is currently running a 25 billion euro military modernization program, he said, and has kept its NATO spending commitments even during its deepest years of economic austerity.
On European defense, he backed EU strategic autonomy as a strong European pillar that strengthens NATO rather than competes with it, citing last year's Hague summit decisions on defense spending benchmarks as a step forward.
Mitsotakis also addressed the Iran-US ceasefire, saying he hopes it holds. He warned that any new escalation would drive up oil prices and squeeze living costs for Europeans, calling it the top domestic concern for governments across the continent.
