“Unfortunately, the world has become extremely unpredictable, and the crisis in the Middle East is unfolding in a way that gives us serious cause for concern about the impact this conflict will have on the European and global economies,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis regarding the resurgence of war in the Middle East in an interview he gave on the program “Enopios Enopio” on the ANT1 television station.
“No one can be a prophet and predict how these discussions will unfold. I wish and hope that this will be a temporary flare-up and that both sides will return to the negotiating table, and that the final peace agreement will ensure freedom of navigation and the free passage of crude oil and petroleum productsincluding natural gas, through the Strait of Hormuz,” the prime minister said.
He emphasized that global turmoil and inflation, including inflation in our country, are fueled almost exclusively by fuel prices.
Regarding the possibility of a broader conflagration, the Prime Minister emphasized that “our country’s diplomatic capital, in light of this conflict as well, has clearly been upgraded. Greece has a strategic relationship with Israel, not necessarily with the current government but with the State of Israel—a relationship that has depth and allows us to criticize Israel whenever we believe it is taking actions that serve neither our national interests nor regional security.”
He said that at the same time, our country has provided practical support to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, and this process of supporting countries in crisis creates the conditions for a substantial upgrade in our country’s relations with all major Arab countries.
He ruled out the risk of entanglement because, as he said, we respect the agreements we have signed and are acting purely within the framework of initiatives of a defensive nature.
Regarding the Ankara-Tel Aviv spat, he said it masks deeper differences in interests and emphasized that words are often spoken to appeal to domestic public opinion in Turkey.
“I believe and hope that we will not find ourselves facing yet another unnecessary source of tension in the Middle East,” he said, noting that Greece is present on all diplomatic fronts in the Middle East.