The European Union's response to authoritarianism and a threat to democracy, Turkey's escalating aggression, and the threat of climate change were the focus of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' brief address to the 77th United Nations General Assembly on Friday night (Athens time).
Mitsotakis described Turkey's aggressive rhetoric as one that was "combined with a massive disinformation campaign, and multiple violations of Greece’s sovereignty and sovereign rights at sea and in the air," as well as the instrumentalization of migration flows, and a unilateral decision to refuse all high-level contacts.
"If President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan wants to talk about red lines," the Greek premier noted, "then I say this: Turkish claims over the sovereignty of Greece’s islands are baseless and unacceptable. Questioning the sovereignty of Greek territory crosses a red line for all Greeks."
At the same time, he assured the Turkish people that Greece "poses no threat to your country" and called on its leadership to honor a long history and to "move forward in a spirit of mutual respect."
Source: ANA-MPA
