Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis‘ address to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday will be a closely watched event in both Athens and Ankara, as the Greek prime minister attempts to project consistency, reliability and the country’s commitment to international law. The speech comes on the heels of an address by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who used the same podium to put Ankara’s longstanding revisionist positions back on the table.
Erdogan spoke on Tuesday of “disputes” in the Aegean that “must be resolved,” once again disregarding Athens’ consistent position that under international law, the two countries have only one dispute, which concerns the delimitation of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Mitsotakis will reiterate that Greece seeks stability, peace and good relations with its neighbors, guided by strict adherence to international law.
One of the top priorities for Greek diplomats is the Cyprus issue, as they aim to ensure that it remains high on the agenda of whoever might succeed U.N. chief António Guterres at the helm of the organization next year. It is therefore anticipated that Mitsotakis will use specific and pointed language and will respond to Erdogan’s illegal demand, restated on Tuesday, for recognition of the Turkish Cypriot pseudostate in the north of the island. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides is set to respond to Erdogan in his own address to the assembly on Wednesday. The issue is also bound to come up when Mitsotakis meets Guterres on Thursday ahead of his speech, and when Christodoulides holds a private meeting with Guterres that same afternoon.
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis holds meetings on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Penny Karachaliou / INTIME NEWS / Press Release / POOL )
Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis has also held useful talks in recent days with his counterparts from Algeria, Iran, Bahrain and Pakistan, against the backdrop of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and the recent Mecca defense agreement. He also met separately with General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman, who is also Bangladesh’s foreign minister, ahead of Greece’s turn at the rotating presidency of the Security Council in October. Greece currently holds one of the council’s nonpermanent seats.
Throughout this week of high-level diplomacy and leaders’ meetings in New York, the Greek delegation’s aim is to build on the relationships it has already been developing with key players and, where possible, act as a bridge between rival camps. Freedom of navigation is at the center of that effort, and Greece plans to launch an initiative on this hot-button topic during its Security Council presidency. Greek officials also intend to highlight the country’s role in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as the importance of adhering to the law of the sea, at every available opportunity.
Mitsotakis is also scheduled to meet Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday. Greece has been a pivotal player in efforts to bring the European Union and Canada closer, and it is a founding member of the proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, an international lender Carney is working to set up.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in San Francisco on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Dimitris Papamitsos/Prime Minister’s Press Office/Eurokinissi)
The prime minister also plans to attend on Wednesday the launch of Ocean Eye, a global alliance jointly led by Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Attention will be on whether von der Leyen uses the event to respond to Erdogan’s unfounded claims. Among other things, the Turkish president took aim at the EU, saying the bloc could not become “stronger or safer” without Turkey, a rebuke of EU leaders over Turkey’s exclusion from SAFE, the bloc’s defense procurement loan program.
After Mitsotakis’ address, the foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt are scheduled to meet on Friday in a trilateral format.
Source: TA NEA
