Greek-Turkish relations are on the way to normalization and we should be able to preserve this acquis, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with Skai radio, noting that he will visit Turkey next May.
In the wake of the State Department’s approval for the purchase of F-35s, Mitsotakis stated that we should “preserve the good climate that has been built with Turkey” and “not to forget that important steps have been taken in the Greek-Turkish rapprochement.”
As he mentioned, we should separate Greece’s obligation to arm itself and maintain a qualitative deterrent advantage from the general framework of Greek-Turkish relations that has made considerable progress over the last months.
Asked about the recent incendiary statements of the Turkish President, Mitsotakis commented that “anyone who believes that the Greek-Turkish rapprochement will advance without turbulence is out of place and out of time.”
However, he said, we should look at the bigger picture and separate the rhetoric from the practice.
Asked to comment on the green light for the sale of F-16s to Turkey, the prime minister emphasized that “the fixed position of Greek foreign policy is that we cannot impose on the US how to sell weapons to Turkey.” However, as he stated “it is important to take into account Greek concerns.”
“Turkey was to receive the first F-35s in 2019, something that never happened. If the US deems it necessary to cut off a defense supply, it does so,” he added.
Regarding the conditions for the delivery of F-16s to Turkey, he said that “this concerns the relations of the US government with the legislative power, the Congress” underlining that “the relations between Greece and the Congress are close relations always being built in t
