10.07.2026 01:50
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who reacted to US President Donald Trump's statements on the sidelines of the NATO Summit signaling a green light for the supply of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, changed his tune. After President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, "He should not have made such a mistake," Mitsotakis backtracked, accusing the Greek media of exaggerating the issue and stating, "In Greece, we sometimes adopt a rather narrow perspective on these broad issues."
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke at the annual Round Table Meeting panel jointly organized by The Economist magazine and the Greek government in the capital Athens.
“IF WE ONLY FOCUS ON GREECE-TURKEY RELATIONS, WE WOULD BE DOING INJUSTICE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DECISIONS TAKEN AT THE SUMMIT”
In the panel he attended together with European Parliament (EP) President Roberta Metsola, Mitsotakis was asked about the only negative topic for Greece at the NATO Summit being the F-35 supply issue to Turkey. He said, “I think if we reduce the public debate in Greece only to issues concerning Greece-Turkey relations, we would be doing injustice to the importance of the decisions taken at the summit.”
“WE ADOPT A QUITE NARROW PERSPECTIVE ON BROAD ISSUES”
In his speech, Mitsotakis accused the Greek media of exaggerating reports about Turkey’s F-35 fighter jet supply, saying, “When there are issues we need to discuss with Turkey, we discuss them among ourselves. I think in Greece, we sometimes adopt a quite narrow perspective on these broad issues. Again, the most important message from the summit is that Europe is allocating more resources to defense.”
Mitsotakis added, “I briefly touched on this yesterday, but I am always surprised that a part of the Greek media reports on these matters by greatly exaggerating them and without understanding the complex dynamics we face. So let us leave this topic here. I have nothing else to add on this.”
“WE OWE COOPERATION WITH TURKEY”
In the panel, Mitsotakis also spoke highly of cooperation with Turkey on migration, stating that the decrease in irregular migrants is due to cooperation with Turkey. Mitsotakis said, “Today on the islands east of the Aegean, we see thousands of Turkish tourists visiting the islands under the fast-track visa scheme rather than irregular migrants. We achieved this because we cooperated with Turkey.”
PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN SAID, “MITSOTAKIS SHOULD NOT HAVE MADE SUCH A MISTAKE”
US President Donald Trump’s green light for the supply of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey during the NATO Summit had drawn reactions from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
In response to questions about these reactions during a press conference after the NATO Summit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated, “Neither statement has a place in my world. It is clear in which waters Netanyahu swims. Mitsotakis should not have made such a mistake. Because have we ever expressed any thought to Mr. Mitsotakis, saying ‘why did you buy those defense equipment for Greece?’ or ‘why are you buying them?’ No. Yet he is our neighbor. We could have had the opportunity to say such things. But there is no need. He can buy and sell. Turkey is already producing these things. In addition to producing, of course, it also has the right to buy. We are conducting negotiations with various countries around the world. We are taking our steps accordingly.”