Mitsotakis to CNN on Ties With Turkey; Schengen Pact, Migration, Mideast Crisis

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis fielded a handful of questions by well-known CNN anchor and globe-trotting reporter Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday afternoon outside the UN headquarters in Manhattan, where he first cited significant progress in Greek-Turkish relations, speaking hours after his closely-watched meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mitsotakis is in the US metropolis to hold meetings on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly and to attend sessions and related events. He’ll address the general assembly from the hall’s podium on Friday.

The Greek leader said that it was important to keep channels of communication open between Athens and Ankara, including on issues where the two sides disagree, such as delimitating maritime zones – but using international law as the basis for resolution.

He also bemoaned the unilateral violation of the Schengen Pact, as he called it, a clear reference to Germany’s border tightening last week, saying this isn’t a solution to the problem of illegal migration plaguing Europe.

Mitsotakis also responded to a question from the CNN anchor over the Pylos migrant boat shipwreck, the Middle East crisis and Greece’s relationship with Israel, as well as even on the possibility of a repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles.