World News | Greek Leader Says Armed Conflict with Turkey Won't Happen
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Greece's prime minister says that he cannot imagine that tensions with neighbouring NATO ally Turkey could ever escalate into armed conflict.
Athens, Sep 11 (AP) Greece's prime minister says that he cannot imagine that tensions with neighbouring NATO ally Turkey could ever escalate into armed conflict.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke at a press conference Sunday at the Thessaloniki International Fair, where he gave the keynote speech Saturday outlining his government's economic policy goals.
Asked by The Associated Press whether a recent escalation in rhetoric from Turkey, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, could be the prelude to an armed conflict, Mitsotakis replied negatively.
“I don't believe this will ever happen. And if, God forbid, it happened, Turkey would receive an absolutely devastating response. And I think they know it very well. Turkey knows the competence of the Greek (armed) forces,” he said.
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Erdogan has accused Greece of occupying supposedly demilitarised islands in the Aegean Sea and has threatened that Turkey would take action.
Mitsotakis added that, despite Erdogan's “unacceptable” comments, he was still open to dialogue and a meeting with him.
Mitsotakis linked Greece's unequivocal support for Ukraine to concerns that, if Russia prevails, it could serve as an example to other countries with expansionist designs.
“There is a dividing line between the countries that respect the inviolability of borders (and) the rules of international law and those who believe that, based on the law of the strongest, they can target countries they believe are weaker and change the borders on a whim,” Mitsotakis said.
Mitsotakis added “it is very important to give Ukraine the chance to negotiate a peace with Russia on its own terms and certainly not as the loser in this war.” (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)