By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis used his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly to reaffirm dialogue with Türkiye while warning that meaningful progress cannot be made under what he described as "threats of war" over the exercise of legitimate rights under international law.
Turning directly to relations with Türkiye, Mitsotakis said Athens had spent the past three years trying to improve ties, rebuild trust and keep channels of communication open.
"Over the past three years, we have made a sustained effort to improve our relations, rebuild trust and maintain open channels of communication, in order to prevent an escalation of tensions that could lead to unwanted crises," Mitsotakis said.
"It is a delicate relationship that carries the weight of history."
He said broader regional challenges urgently required a common understanding of how the two countries should move forward, based on "full respect for International Law and the principles of good-neighbourly relations."
"We cannot, after all, as I have repeatedly said, change geography. It is our destiny to live next to each other."
UNCLOS and the 'only' dispute
Mitsotakis reiterated Athens' position that the delimitation of the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zones is the only longstanding dispute between Greece and Türkiye.
"Let me reiterate that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides the only institutional framework for resolving our sole longstanding dispute, which concerns the delimitation of the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zones," he said.
Mitsotakis then linked prospects for further progress in Greek-Turkish relations to unilateral actions and threats of war.
"Dialogue is essential for peace and prosperity," he said. "However, meaningful dialogue cannot coexist with unilateral actions that challenge the international legal order, nor can there be meaningful progress when we are confronted with threats of war in response to the exercise of legitimate rights under International Law."
"Such actions do not resolve disputes, they only end up exacerbating them. And they risk undermining the stability of our wider region."
Türkiye is not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Mitsotakis did not use the term casus belli in the speech. His reference to "threats of war" concerned the Turkish parliament's June 8, 1995 resolution authorizing the government to take measures, including military ones, if Greece extended its territorial waters beyond six nautical miles in the Aegean.
Cyprus remains an 'open wound'
Mitsotakis then turned to Cyprus, calling the unresolved issue "an open wound."
"Fifty-two years have passed since the illegal Turkish invasion and the continuing occupation of part of Cyprus," he said. "A flagrant violation of International Law, the consequences of which continue to this day."
He also described Cyprus as a test of the United Nations itself.
"For the United Nations, Cyprus remains the 'litmus test' of its credibility: its ability to uphold its own resolutions and the principles of the Charter."
Mitsotakis said Greece fully supported UN Secretary-General António Guterres' recent efforts to create conditions for the resumption of substantive negotiations.
"We sincerely hope that progress will be achieved during the remainder of his term and expect that these efforts will be continued by his successor, with the same objective: the reunification of Cyprus, free of occupation forces, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council."
GSI as 'the tangible face of geopolitics'
Later in the speech, Mitsotakis placed the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) within Greece's wider strategy for linking Europe with the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, Gulf and North Africa.
"Connectivity is the tangible face of geopolitics," Mitsotakis said.
"Electricity grids, energy and digital corridors, ports and maritime transport routes are levers of power. Geography matters."
He said Greece was investing in a new generation of connectivity projects, naming the Greece-Egypt GREGY electricity interconnector and GSI.
"Our ambition is to translate our unique position into stronger links between Europe, the Middle East, the Gulf and North Africa," Mitsotakis said.
"For this reason, we are investing in a new generation of connectivity projects, such as GREGY, which will transport clean electricity from Egypt to Europe, and the Great Sea Interconnector, which will connect European electricity grids with Cyprus and Israel."
Sources: Office of the Prime Minister of Greece, Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bosphorus News review and reporting