Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a direct warning to Ankara during a speech at a Greek diaspora luncheon in...

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a direct warning to Ankara during a speech at a Greek diaspora luncheon in New York on Wednesday, telling the crowd that Greece will never accept threats from any country. "We do not threaten anyone, but we will not accept threats from anyone either," he said. Speaking to Greek-American community leaders gathered in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Mitsotakis described Greece as a country that seeks constructive relations with its neighbors, including Turkey, but made clear that goodwill has limits. On the energy front, Mitsotakis announced that Greece expects to conduct its first exploratory natural gas drilling, likely in spring 2027, through a joint venture between Exxon and a Greek company. He called it the first such drilling activity in Greece since the 1970s, framing it as a major step for the country's energy security and geopolitical standing. "Energy security and energy independence are critical elements of geopolitical power," he said. Mitsotakis also addressed the 2027 elections directly, pushing back against the idea that seeking a third term is about chasing a political record. "It's not about breaking a record. It's really about changing the country," he said, pointing to unfinished reforms and the need to make recent changes irreversible. He acknowledged openly that staying in power for a long time makes it harder to win over voters, saying the government will have to work "doubly hard" to earn trust again. He pointed to Greece's economic turnaround as his strongest argument, noting that unemployment has fallen from 18% in 2019 to below 8%, with nearly 600,000 new jobs created in that period. Mitsotakis also highlighted that Greece currently borrows from international bond markets at lower interest rates than four of the seven G7 countries. #Greece #Mitsotakis #Turkey