Mitsotakis calls for greater European solidarity on Turkey, migration

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for greater European solidarity in dealing with Turkish provocations against Greek sovereignty and the immigration crisis.

In an interview with Politique Internationale, a quarterly French political affairs magazine, published ahead of his visit to Paris Wednesday, Mitsotakis said that “any problems Greece has with Turkey, or with any other country, are automatically also problems of the European Union.”

The Greek premier said that Turkey’s recent efforts to claim large portions of the Eastern Mediterranean as its maritime territory, including the sea border deal between Ankara and the Tripoli-based government, were also a “blatant provocation” toward Europe.

“Europe, together with Greece of course, should react accordingly. They should remind [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan that our borders are immovable and unnegotiable,” said Mitsotakis while describing Greece as a “pillar of stability and security in the East Mediterranean.”

The Greek premier also accused Turkey of not respecting its agreement with the EU on stemming migration flows in the Aegean Sea, while calling for a fairer sharing of the migrant burden in Europe.

“Europe does not seem to treat our problem as a European problem,” Mitsotakis told the French magazine.