Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted on Wednesday that NATO leaders were meeting in Ankara at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, with burden-sharing among allies at the centre of the alliance’s agenda.
Speaking before the start of NATO’s 36th summit, Mitsotakis said U.S. President Donald Trump had, since his first term, pressed European allies to assume a greater share of defence spending.
The Greek prime minister reiterated his support for greater European strategic autonomy, stressing that it should complement rather than compete with NATO by strengthening the alliance’s European pillar.
Mitsotakis said decisions taken at last year’s NATO summit in The Hague had set important defence spending benchmarks, adding that Greece had already reached defence expenditure equivalent to 3.5% of gross domestic product and was implementing a 25-billion-euro programme to modernise its armed forces.
He said Greece had consistently met its commitments to NATO, including during years of severe fiscal austerity, despite facing significant geopolitical challenges in its region.
Mitsotakis also expressed hope that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran would hold, saying diplomacy should be given time to resolve the crisis.
Responding to a question, he declined to comment on remarks made on Tuesday by Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“What I can say is that an alliance must be based on the fundamental principles of good neighbourly relations,” Mitsotakis said.
He added that Greece continued to face what it regards as an open threat of war from Turkiye and said the security concerns of all NATO member states should be taken into account within what is fundamentally a defensive alliance.
Mitsotakis said he believed all outstanding issues could be resolved through good neighbourly relations and cooperation.
He concluded by saying it was always a pleasure to visit Ankara and reiterated his longstanding support for improving relations between Greece and Turkiye.