Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis waits for the arrival of European Council President Antonio Costa before their meeting at the Maximos Mansion, in Athens, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP Photo)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said Greece supports Türkiye’s path toward the European Union, but stressed that Ankara’s progress must go hand in hand with maintaining good-neighborly relations with Athens.
Speaking after a meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa on Sept. 3, Mitsotakis said Greece does not pose a threat to Türkiye and rejected any external suggestions on how Athens should strengthen its defense capabilities under a recently signed agreement with Israel.
Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Aug. 31 it had signed a deal with Athens worth approximately 3 billion euros (almost $3.5 billion) to set up the “Achilles Shield” aerial defense system for Greece.
“Our country is peaceful and poses no threat to anyone,” Mitsotakis said, stressing that Greece’s sovereignty must not be called into question.
The Greek prime minister said Athens wants to maintain good-neighborly relations with Türkiye and will continue to support Ankara’s EU accession process, provided Türkiye acts responsibly in its relations with neighboring countries.
“There should be no active threat of war, and our sovereignty must not be questioned. We want to strengthen Türkiye’s European path, but this must proceed alongside good-neighborly relations with Greece,” Mitsotakis said.
Mitsotakis reiterated that Greece does not constitute a regional threat and said decisions concerning the country’s defense posture would remain a matter of national sovereignty.
