The Greek prime minister on Thursday spoke at length about his upcoming visit to Ankara next week, as well as the only difference he insists separates Athens and Ankara, i.e. delimitating maritime regions, such as the continental shelf in the Aegean.

Asked by the Foreign Policy (FP) presenter about this week’s just off the eastern Aegean Island of Chios, where 15 foreign nationals crammed onto a flimsy migrant inflatable died after a collision with a Greek coast guard vessel, Kyriakos Mitsotakis made it clear that if it weren’t for the coast guard, there would have been more fatalities, while referring to more evidence once the latter’s investigation is complete.

Speaking about the problem of irregular migration, Mitsotakis stressed that Greece is pursuing a tough but fair policy, saying his government believes that someone who enters the country illegally and is not entitled to asylum should be returned to their home country.

With regard to Euro-Atlantic relations, the Greek prime minister stressed that he has not abandoned them, while acknowledging that the ties that shaped the Western world order “have weakened, but are still there.”