Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during a meeting with President of the Hellenic Republic Kostas Tasoulas on Monday, announced that Greek Navy vessels are being deployed preventively just outside Libya’s territorial waters to monitor potential migrant flows.

“I have asked the Minister of National Defence and the military leadership to ensure that naval ships are dispatched outside Libyan waters,” Mitsotakis said, adding that the mission is being carried out in cooperation with Libyan authorities and other European forces to send a clear message: human traffickers will not determine who enters the country.

Mitsotakis noted that the issue of Libya will also be raised at the upcoming European Council meeting on Thursday, where he expects conclusions that fully support Greece’s position.

Addressing the escalating situation in the Middle East following the recent U.S. strike on Iran, the Prime Minister expressed the government’s deep concern.

He reiterated Greece’s firm stance that Iran must not acquire a nuclear arsenal, while cautioning that further military escalation could create more problems than it resolves.

Mitsotakis called on all parties to return to the negotiating table, warning that continued conflict risks significant economic fallout, including impacts on global inflation.

The prime minister stressed Greece’s obligation, as a major maritime power, to safeguard Greek-flagged ships and those operated by Greek interests navigating the region. The Ministry of Shipping has already issued the necessary guidance, he confirmed, while assuring that all appropriate national security measures have been taken, though without disclosing further details.

Finally, Mitsotakis condemned the recent terrorist attack on the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Elias in Damascus, Syria. Expressing his outrage, he called on Syria’s new government to take tangible steps to protect all ethnic and religious minorities. “Such tragic incidents deeply concern us,” he stated, extending Greece’s solidarity to the Patriarch of Antioch and his congregation.