Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday called on European Union leaders to take a “clear” position and impose “tough sanctions” on Turkey in response to Ankara’s mounting aggression against Greece and Cyprus, the Kathimerini daily reported.
According to a Greek government source, Mitsotakis called for measures to rein in Ankara during the ongoing EU summit in Brussels aimed at negotiating the parameters of a post-coronavirus recovery fund.
Referring to Turkish transgressions in the eastern Mediterranean in a brief address to EU leaders, the Greek prime minister reportedly stressed that Turkey cannot be permitted to violate the sovereign rights of two member-states without meeting with a strong reaction.
Mitsotakis also referred to the Turkish government’s provocative decision to convert the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, saying that it demonstrates Ankara’s disregard for international agreements, the notion of mutual respect and interfaith dialogue.
He also asked that EU-Turkey relations be discussed at greater length at the next meeting of the European Council, the government source was quoted by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency as saying.