Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday welcomed the agreement on Sweden’s accession to NATO upon his arrival for the start of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Greek government sources on Tuesday welcomed as positive the rapprochement between Turkiye and the West, only a few hours before a meeting between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Regarding the F-16 fighter jets promised to Ankara, the same sources noted that four years ago, Greece’s neighbour was due to receive 100 5th-generation F-35 fighter jets with no conditions, whereas it was now subject to conditions imposed by the US Congress for the upgrading and procurement of F-16 fighter jets.
Earlier, referring to his upcoming meeting with Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Mitsotakis had expressed hope that a first step toward a fresh start in Greek-Turkish relations would take place, insisting that Greece and Türkiye are not condemned to live in a climate of tension.
“Two leaders with a fresh and strong popular mandate can agree on a road map that will lead to the resolution of the one and sole difference we have with Turkiye, namely the delimitation of the continental shelf and the EEZ,” he said. Mitsotakis noted that a positive atmosphere has been created in relations between the two countries over the last months, expressing hope that they will be able to build on this and “make some important steps forward, which will be to the benefit of both our peoples.”
Finally, the prime minister stressed that amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine it is more necessary than ever for countries to reaffirm their fundamental commitments as NATO member-states.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
