Mitsotakis: Challenges, Defense, and Diplomacy

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the last two months as “complicated and full of challenges” during an interview on Monocle Radio’s Foreign Desk show with Andrew Mueller. However, he emphasized that even in crisis, there are opportunities—especially for those advocating for Europe’s strategic autonomy, like Greece, CE Report quotes Athens-Macedonian

Mitsotakis welcomed recent progress made by the European Council but underlined that Europe still relies heavily on NATO and the U.S. for collective defense. “We must work hard to keep the U.S. engaged, while also doing more to protect ourselves,” he said, noting that Greece consistently spends over 2% of its GDP on defense.

Discussing Greek-Turkish relations, the PM called it a “complicated relationship” centered on maritime disputes in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. While acknowledging the lack of major breakthroughs, he stressed the importance of maintaining open communication with Türkiye and exploring ways to cooperate in other areas.

On Greek-American ties, Mitsotakis highlighted the enduring strategic partnership beyond political administrations. He confirmed his intention to renew the Greek-U.S. defense agreement when it comes up in 2026.