Mitsotakis: “I never closed the door to dialogue with Turkey”

“I never closed the door to the dialogue,” said the prime minister said.

More specifically, answering the question of whether the good climate of the last few days – after the deadly earthquake – will be maintained, Mitsotakis hastened to once again express his condolences to the Turkish and Syrian people.

He also once again expressed his joy and pride for the Special Disaster Management Team (EMAK) and their assistance in the investigations in the neighbouring country.

“I stand by Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s statement that things can get better, I understand, however, the caution of some that we may return to the bad habits of the past, I hope and wish that this will not happen,” said the prime minister meaningfully.

“I never closed the door to dialogue. In Turkey they know that Greek foreign policy has now gained depth and content. Greece will continue to reinforce itself as a deterrent, something that is not necessarily directed against Turkey,” he added.

“I hope something positive comes out of this,” he repeated and added that “we will continue to support Turkey with aid, we know that its people have needs. We will also be present in the rebuilding effort the next day.”

Elsewhere, the premier announced that a one-off benefit of between 200 and 300 euros will be given to pensioners who did not see increases in their pensions due to the ‘personal difference’ measure.

“There will be an extraordinary benefit for pensioners who did not see an increase in their pensions as of January 1, 2023,” the prime minister said in response to a related question. “It will be between 200 and 300 euros, depending on the amount of pension that each person receives,” he added.

Mitsotakis also said that the announcements will be made on Wednesday by the government’s economic team, adding that: “It will be a one-off payment and we estimate that it will approach a total of 300 million euros.

However, as he pointed out, our economy is growing faster than expected and the fiscal cost for this provision has been calculated.