‘Open’ to talks with whoever Turks elect

– Do you see a resumption of the dialogue between Greece and Turkey after the elections? Could we take recourse to The Hague for the other issues, apart from the delineation of the maritime zones?

The Turks will vote as they do. However, I cannot say that I am very optimistic given Turkey’s revisionist stance. That is why who is at Greece’s helm over the next few years is so important. Who can strengthen the country’s position, develop its international alliances and increase its deterrence capabilities? Can Mitsotakis accomplish this as the prime minister of a single-party government, or a hodgepodge of a government with Mr Tsipras as prime minister? I will talk to whoever the Turkish people choose. In the meantime, we need to be prepared for better, but also for harder days.

I am hoping that Turkey will realize that it has more to gain from a rapprochement with Greece, Europe and the West more generally. Our door is open to building a positive agenda, to matters of mutual benefit, like commerce, culture and the environment. We are consistent, but we are not naive.

For there to be a meaningful improvement in relations, Turkey needs to accept that we resolve our differences on the basis of international law and the law of the sea. And that there is basically one big difference, which is the delineation of the maritime zones, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. These are also the issues that we could take to The Hague at some point. Under no circumstances will I discuss any other issue with Turkey. Nor, of course, matters that have to do with Greek sovereignty on the Aegean islands or with the demilitarization of the islands.