Turkish financial crisis a threat to regional stability, Greek PM says
Turkey’s currency crisis poses a risk to the stability of the wider region, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt in which he urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to shun policies that undermine peace between the Aegean neighbors.
“The fact that Turkey is faced with a financial crisis is not to our satisfaction as it could destabilize the broader region,” Mitsotakis said.
Mitsotakis appeared to criticize Turkey for tensions between the two countries, while describing Turkey’s casus belli (cause for war) if Greece extends its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, as it reserves the right to do so under international law, as “incomprehensible.” He nevertheless made an overture for rapprochement.
“We rely on reason when dealing with each other. We are not the ones dreaming of grandeur lost. Let’s start looking at the future and not the past,” he said.
The Greek premier also expressed his wish for greater German support in Athens’ problems with Turkey.
Berlin, he said, should act as a “neutral” bystander. “We belong to the same European family,” he said.
