PM brushes off Turkish warnings

[Prime Minister's Office]

In a stern response to Turkey's threats over Greek plans to extend territorial waters around the island of Crete, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed on Friday that "Greece will not be told how to handle its sovereign claims." 

Speaking from the island of Gavdos off Crete, which he visited on the occasion of Epiphany Day, Mitsotakis added that Greece is a "force of peace, but at the same time we are also a force of self-confidence." Mistotakis urged Turkey, without naming it, to respect international law, which he said is the only basis for resolving disputes.

With regard to Greece's energy plans, Mitsotakis said that prospecting has begun west of Gavdos for natural gas, "in order to determine whether there are deposits that the Hellenic Republic can exploit."

"I call on neighboring states to enter into fruitful negotiations with Greece," he said,...

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