Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned on Tuesday of Turkey’s destabilizing activity in the eastern Mediterranean region.
Speaking from Israel where he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his first post-coronavirus pandemic trip, he said: “I set out what I consider our view to be regarding Turkey´s aggressive behavior in the eastern Mediterranean.”
“We consider this activity to be a threat to regional peace and stability,” Mitsotakis said, noting a Turkish military exercise last week near Libya.
With Greece, Israel and Cyprus partnered up on energy projects in the eastern Mediterranean, Mitsotakis warned against what he called Turkey’s “aggressive behavior”.
He cited “recent incidents of illegal and provocative Turkish behavior at our sea, air and land border” and “the destabilizing effect that Turkey has made vis-a-vis its relationship with Libya”.
Turkey, which has declared part of the eastern Mediterranean a shared exploration area with Libya, says it is within its sovereign rights.
Israel sees the Greek visit as an opportunity to dilute European opposition to its planned annexation of occupied West Bank land which the Palestinians want for a state.
“We expect Greece to be an anchor of support for us in the Union,” Yossi Amrani, the Israeli ambassador to Athens, told Israel’s Army Radio when asked about the annexation plan.
