Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who met with European Council President Antonio Costa, gave messages to Türkiye after the meeting. Mitsotakis argued that his country wants to strengthen Türkiye's path to Europe, but Ankara must show that it can adhere to good neighborly values.
Mitsotakis stated that Greece is a country that does not pose a threat to Türkiye and that he will not accept suggestions to strengthen Athens' defense regarding the agreement made with Israel.
The Greek leader emphasized that his country's sovereignty should not be questioned and said, "My homeland is a peaceful country."
CONDITIONAL GOOD NEIGHBORSHIP MESSAGE TO Türkiye
Mitsotakis emphasized that they want to have good neighborly relations with Türkiye. Claiming that the defense agreement made by Athens with Israel does not pose a threat to Türkiye or other countries, Mitsotakis stated that his country's sovereignty should not be questioned.
Mitsotakis stated that Greece will continue to support Türkiye's EU membership process, but this is subject to certain conditions. Mitsotakis noted that this support will continue if the Athens administration acts responsibly in Ankara's neighborly relations, and underlined that otherwise, expectations cannot be met.
'ATHENS IS CLOSED TO DEFENSE SUGGESTIONS'
Mitsotakis emphasized that Greece is not a regional threat and announced that he would not consider any foreign proposals to increase his country's defense capacity within the scope of the agreement signed with Israel.
The Greek leader said, "There should be no active threat of war and our sovereignty should not be questioned. We want to strengthen Türkiye's path to Europe, but this must go hand in hand with establishing good neighborly relations with Greece. My homeland is a peaceful country and does not pose a threat to anyone. It will not accept suggestions from anyone on how to strengthen its defense." he said.
ATHENS' EXPECTATIONS FROM THE EU BUDGET
Mitsotakis stated that they discussed negotiations on the new multi-annual financial framework for the 2028-2034 period in his meeting with Antonio Costa and said, "It is imperative that we reach a political agreement by the end of the year. The Cyprus Presidency has laid the foundations, we are waiting for the Irish Presidency's proposals on the budget amount and resource distribution." he said.
Emphasizing the need for a more ambitious budget, the Greek Prime Minister said, "Simply put, we cannot achieve more by spending less. For us, policies that support rapprochement ensure that growth concerns all countries on the periphery of the Union, but also benefits the countries at the center of our common European family." he said.
The Greek leader said he believes that common European public goods, such as defense, can be financed with new common debt instruments under certain conditions. "We are always ready to consider the creation of new financing instruments. I repeat, I believe that common European public goods such as Defense can be financed with new common debt instruments under certain conditions." he said.
PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN: GREECE MUST TURN FROM THIS MISTAKE
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Athens in his statement on the plane returning from his trip to Kyrgyzstan and said, "We say that we and Greece should proceed on the basis of good neighborliness. If we give a voice to Greece from our landmass, from Kaş, they will hear it, right? But we have been sincere on every issue. We have been the party that acted constructively. But most of the time, we did not receive the reward of our good intentions. First of all, Greece needs to understand that Türkiye has no eyes on anyone's land." However, it does not violate anyone's rights. Ignoring and violating international agreements will not benefit anyone. Anyone who interprets Türkiye's cool-headed and prudent approach as a weakness is making a grave mistake. Greece should turn away from this wrong path and stop arming islands with non-military status. History is a very good guide for those who take lessons. We will continue to work for peace, security and stability in our region. He used the following expressions:
ANNOUNCEMENT OF Türkiye'S MARINE PARK AREAS
With the Presidential decision published in the Official Gazette, Fethiye-Kaş Marine National Park, measuring 2 million 170 thousand 603 hectares, and North Aegean Marine National Park, measuring 174 thousand 214 hectares, were granted protection status. In this context, Türkiye's first marine national parks were Fethiye-Kaş and Northern Aegean.
Ankara's move was a predicted development. Following the marine parks declared by Greece in the Southern Aegean and Ionian Sea on July 21, 2025, a similar response was signaled from Türkiye. As a matter of fact, the expectation that Ankara would establish its own marine parks in response to Athens' unilateral step has been discussed in the political lobbies for a while.
While the question of whether this initiative initiated by Athens with the claim of environmental protection actually aims to be the sole determinant in the Aegean region continues to be discussed in the public, the latest decrees published with the approval of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan constituted the first response given to Greece.
DEFENSE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND GREECE
Israel and Greece signed the "Achilles Shield" air defense agreement worth approximately 3 billion euros on 31 August. In the statement made by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, it was stated that the agreement in question is "the largest defense export agreement and one of the largest agreements in Israel's history" in Israel-Greece relations to date.
It was noted that within the scope of the "Achilles Shield", Israel would establish a multi-layered air defense network in Greece, including David's Sling systems and the Barak MX system for defense against aircraft and missiles.
It was stated that the agreement included Rafael company's David Sling and IAI's Barak MX systems, as well as Rafael's Spyder and MMR type multi-mission radars.
