Greek premier Alexis Tsipras sent a message of peaceful coexistence and cooperation to Turkey from the Greek island of Kastellorizo, a stone’s throw from the Turkish coast on Tuesday.
“Greece threatens no one but nor is it afraid of anyone,” Tsipras said as tension in the Aegean between the two allies is on the rise following Ankara’s policy of disputing the sovereignty of Greek islets.
He added that Turkey does not always behave as a good neighbor: “Aggressiveness and provocativeness are not signs of strength.”
Tsipras also recalled how the Turkish prime minister picked up the phone to offer condolences for the loss of Giorgos Baltadoros, the Greek pilot whose jet crashed off the island of Skyros last week.
“It was a sign of good will. We should see such signs all the time,” Tsipras said.
The leftist leader, who visited Kastellorizo to inaugurate two desalination units, also struck an optimistic note about the future of the country.
“We have come to a point when we are leaving the difficult days behind us (…) we have entered into the final stretch before a final and clean exit from the period of aggressive austerity and suffocating surveillance that had a heavy cost,” Tsipras said.