Mitsotakis rules out possibility of joint Greek-Turkish exploitation of energy resources in the Aegean

If Turkiye wishes to come closer to Europe and open itself to the West, Greek-Turkish dialog must resume, New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview to ANT1 on Wednesday.

The dialog will concern "a single and only difference [between us], that is the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the continental shelf in the Aegean and the East Mediterranean," he told journalist Nikos Chatzinikolaou.

Speaking ahead of a NATO Summit in Vilnius (July 11-12), which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also attend, Mitsotakis reiterated that "we do not have a lot to discuss - issues of sovereignty and demilitarization are off the table" if the two meet in Lithuania.

The ND leader and former premier strongly ruled out any joint exploitation of energy resources in the Aegean with Turkiye. He also said that "Turkiye should reevaluate its moves in Thrace," in terms of the Greek Muslim minority there and influencing national elections, and asserted he would discuss the issue "openly with Erdogan".

He also criticized main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance for spreading fake news that New Democracy plans to privatize health in its second term of rule. He said the next term will focus particularly on chronic problems like the long wait time for regular surgical operations or conditions in emergency incident departments.

In addition, he reiterated his intention to bring the Athens Water and Sewage company (EYDAP) and its Thessaloniki counterpart (EYDATh) under full state control. He noted that those who voted for him conveyed a message for the need for bold reforms and faster speeds in needed changes, he said.

Mitsotakis also said he would "give a real shake-up" to form his new cabinet, moving former ministers around, ensuring that the next four-year term is better than the first one.

"Our obligation is to be the main opposition of ourselves, to listen to society instead of becoming introverted, to self-correct more intensely than we did in previous years," he underlined.