Greek PM says sanctions will be imposed on Turkey in case of 'aggression'

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said Turkey's policy towards Greece has not fundamentally changed and that sanctions are always on the table if Ankara "returns to an aggressive attitude."

Tuesday January 18 2022 01:03 pm

This file photo shows Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Duvar English

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Jan. 17 that Greece had prepared a set of sanctions to be implemented against Turkey if the Turkish government adopts "an aggressive attitude towards Greece and Cyprus.”

“We must be aware of the fact that there has been no fundamental change in Turkey’s policy towards Greece,” Greek City Times quoted Mitsotakis as saying.

“This is why we took this two-tier approach, extending a hand of friendship while at the same time we have prepared a set of possible restrictive measures that could be used if Turkey returns to an aggressive attitude towards Greece and Cyprus," Mitsotakis reportedly said during a meeting with MEPs of the European People’s Party.

Ties between Ankara and the bloc reached a boiling point in 2019 due to a dispute between Turkey and EU member Greece over maritime jurisdiction and rights to offshore energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean.

Ankara and Athens, NATO allies, have since resumed talks to address their differences, easing tensions and establishing what both Turkey and the bloc have called a “positive agenda,” though the move has yielded little improvement in cooperation. Turkey maintains that it has been unfairly excluded from access to Mediterranean mineral resources.