Greek prime minister: No intention of arms race with Turkey
ABC News
Greece’s prime minister says he has no intention of entering an arms race with Turkey and hopes to resolve differences with its neighbor through dialogue
ATHENS, Greece -- Greece’s prime minister said Thursday that he has no intention of competing against Turkey in an arms race and hopes to resolve differences with the neighboring country through dialogue, but that Greece must defend its territory and sovereignty.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ comments Thursday came two days after Greece signed a defense deal with France worth around 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion), including the purchase of three French frigates for the Greek navy.
“We cannot ignore the fact that we live in a very complicated neighborhood. It is a reality of geography which we cannot ignore,” Mitsotakis said during a Democracy Forum conference in Athens.
“I do not intend to enter into an arms race with Turkey, and I’m always reaching out a hand of friendship to Turkey. We have big differences on many issues, but there should be a way to solve these differences through dialogue,” the prime minister said. “At the same time, we will defend our territory, our territorial integrity, our sovereignty, our sovereign rights. And in order to do so, we need a strong deterrence.”