Greek PM Mitsotakis at emergency NATO summit: End dependence on Russian natgas

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis directly referred to a need to wean Europe away from dependency on Russian natural gas, speaking to fellow leaders of NATO member-states during an extraordinary online summit on Friday, urgently convened in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The summit meeting also included the leaders of Sweden and Finland, as well as the heads of other European institutions.

Mitsotakis charged that Russia’s aggression violates international law, as well as harming European and international security and stability.

While the session was sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Greek premier used the occasion to indirectly point to belligerence and saber-rattling by official Turkey, and with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in attendance. Among others, the Greek leader reminded that Athens upholds the principles of respect to territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of all countries, while he condemned Russia’s revisionist actions which run against these principles, sources stated.

Revisionism is a major threat to world peace and it should not be tolerated, he said, while advising that all NATO-member states commit to implementing a framework of sanctions against Russia, decided by the EU. The specter of “revisionism” has also been employed by Athens to portray what it charges is a “neo-Ottoman” policy of Erdogan’s Turkey.
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has highlighted the need for European strategic autonomy, and for strengthening of NATO’s European security policy, which requires that EU member-states spend more on their defense, Mitsotakis said.