Mitsotakis: Terrorism cannot go unanswered

Borders must not be violated and terrorist actions must receive a response, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said, as Israel increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip after Hamas rampaged through its towns.

“There is no room in the 21st century for more sources of violence, nor excuses for religious and ethnic tensions,” Mitsotakis said, in joint statements with his Estonian counterpart, Kaja Kallas, in Athens.

European Union governments and the West condemn the terrorist attack in Israel and the horrific images of the murder and abduction of innocent civilians, he said.

“We recognize the right of those defending themselves to self-defense and we hope that peace is restored as quickly as possible. These are events that not only undermine a just solution in this troubled region, violating the sovereignty of an independent state, but spark tensions across a broad arc of the world map, with many and simultaneous repercussions ranging from a disruption of global security and the economy to a reigniting of the Middle East problem.

Our categorical position is, therefore, that borders must not be violated and terrorist action cannot remain unanswered because, in such cases, maintaining an equal distance objectively favors aggression and authoritarianism,” he said.

Kallas also condemned the attack on Israel and offered condolences to the families of its victims.

Referring to Greece’s relations with Estonia, Mitsotakis described them as excellent and said the two countries shared common values and principles in the EU and NATO, namely a respect for international law and the law of the sea and a rejection of all forms of revisionism.

He noted the significant progress in trade relations and in digital technology transfers with Estonia, which he said had served as a model for Greece’s digitalization efforts, saying that his talks with Kallas had also covered broader regional developments.

Kallas referred to the potential for cooperation with Greece in the digitalization of the state.

She also noted that both countries were on the external borders of the EU and thanked Greece for its support with respect to the war in Ukraine.

“Our reply to this situation must be uniform. Tougher sanctions on Russia are needed, given the continuing war crimes, and we must proceed with a bigger embargo. We must increase defense budgets. We invest more than 3 percent [of GDP] on defense but not everyone does this. We must defend Europe,” she said.

Source: AMNA