PM Mitsotakis: Assasination of Shinzo Abe "is an attack on democracy itself, my thoughts are with Japan"

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his sadness about the news of the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in social media on Friday.

"Sad and shocking news about former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe," he said on Twitter in English. "His life has been cut short in an appalling and cruel way."

"He made a huge contribution, this crime is an attack on democracy itself.

"My thoughts are with his family, friends and the Japanese people."

For their part, the Greek foreign ministry on Friday expressed its condolences on Twitter for the death of former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe.

“We are profoundly saddened and shocked by the tragic death of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, one of Japan’s most influential political figures and a great statesman,” the foreign ministry said.

“We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and our deepest sympathies to the people and government of Japan at this time of sorrow”.

READ MORE: How the assassination of Shinzo Abe unfolded.