Greek Prime Minister extends olive branch to Turkey but warns it not to cross red-lines

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took the podium today in New York where he addressed the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he extended an olive branch to Turkey amid escalating tensions, but not before warning the Turkish government not to cross red lines.

“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.”

In his address, Mitsotakis covered everything from the European Union‘s response to authoritarianism and a threat to democracy, Turkey’s escalating aggression, the threat of climate change and the migration crisis

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.

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.