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From the Souda Base in the presence of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Kyriakos Mitsotakis chose to respond to the latest statements by Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey “He is not a musafir but the owner of the Mediterranean».
Availability and reservations for dialogue
“At a time when old enemies are becoming friends like Israel with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the waves of threats and rivalry should not increase in the Mediterranean,” was the typical dislike of the Greek prime minister’s speech.
THE Mr. Mitsotakis He added significantly that the Mediterranean “is, after all, a sea of strategic importance for the United States as well.”
All of Mr. Mitsotakis’s statements were inspired by the message that Greece and the United States are in line in terms of their positions and interests and in terms of their attitude towards Turkey.
In contrast to the -hope of Greek-Turk- Mike Pompeo, Mr. Mitsotakis expressed Greece’s readiness for dialogue with Turkey and our country’s reservations about Ankara’s intentions. 
Honesty of intent
In this context, and after Mr. Mitsotakis referred to bilateral cooperation with the US, describing Thessaloniki as a “base” and Souda as a meeting place for Greek and American interests in the eastern Mediterranean. , changed to Greek-Turkish and noted:
“Security in the Eastern Mediterranean has been recently put to the test by Turkey’s provocative actions, actions outside international law, with extreme and unnecessary rhetoric that burdens the climate but also with tactics that do not confirm the sincerity of its intentions.
With actions contrary to the values of the Western world that Ankara continues in the waters of Cyprus, as you found out, Mr. Minister, when you were in Nicosia ”.
Aligned positions
The Prime Minister added that “I and the ministers present to the US delegation the Greek positions that I believe are fully in line with the latest State Department statements. If I had to summarize them in four words I would say: No to unilateral actions.”
In this context, Mr. Mitsotakis meant that it is guaranteed and that there is no problem of withdrawal from the Agreement with Egypt for the partial delimitation of the EEZ.
“The Greek answer to all the challenges is none other than the defense of our national rights. The response, however, is always accompanied by good-neighborly initiatives such as the recent agreements we signed for our maritime zones with Italy and Egypt, as well as the emblematic institutionalization of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum. This is a policy that virtually all of our neighbors and allies welcome.
Cyprus, France, Israel, Egypt, the EU that will examine its relations with Turkey at the next two-day Summit, but also the Arab world. “I would say the entire international community,” the prime minister said, adding:
“Because at a time when old enemies are becoming friends like Israel with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the waves of threats and rivalry should not increase in the Mediterranean. It is also a sea of strategic importance for the United States, as it is clearly stated in the EastMed Act. “But it is also a key area for global stability.” 
It does not benefit anyone
And in this context, Mr. Mitsotakis concluded:
“I am happy to say that Pompeo shares our views. He understands that the tension between two NATO member states ultimately benefits no one and that he opposes any arbitrary action that a priori torpedoes any good faith dialogue.
And that, of course, international law must remain the constant compass for all of us. After all, he is aware of our readiness, both for the exploratory contacts that we hope to begin soon and for the technical process that is evolving within NATO.
“I am moderately optimistic that now is the turn of diplomacy.”
Silence
However, it is necessary to decipher Pompeo’s “silence” on the controversial issues concerning Greek-Turkish relations.
The US Secretary of State, in addition to what he said about the strategic importance of strengthening Greek-American relations at the military and energy level, describing Greece as a “pillar of stability” in the region, for the Greek-Turks only He stressed that the United States supports “dialogue between” NATO “member countries, such as between Turkey and Greece.”
He added that he had discussed with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg “the progress of NATO” and expressed hope that “these discussions can continue in a serious way.” 
Demilitarization
It should be noted that these limited remarks by Mr Pompeo on the need for dialogue and, above all, the avoidance of any conflict between NATO member states, do not take into account the fact that Turkey has a broader dialogue agenda that goes beyond the definition of maritime zones and at the same time that Athens calls even on an appeal in The Hague To solve the pending problem with the EEZ and the continental shelf, the Ankara insists on the issue of demilitarization of the Aegean islands essentially challenging part of the Greek sovereignty in their territories.
It is recalled that the Pompeo in his interview with AMPE Yesterday he spoke about the resolution of the “maritime disputes” of Greece and Turkey through dialogue and international dialogue systems of agreements and talks.
“The way to resolve the conflict is not through a show of force, or a show of power, but through dialogue, through international systems, agreements, dialogues, dialogue. This is how these maritime disputes should be resolved. We have seen the Greeks move in this direction, trying to achieve it. We hope the Turkish government sees it in the same way.
We hope that the exploratory talks not only get off to a good start, but it is important that decisions are made in a way that produces results that each of the two nations finds more than acceptable. “We are not just talking, we must find good solutions, we must resolve these conflicts in a way that reflects the fundamental rights of Greek citizens and people around the world,” said the US Secretary of State.
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