Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made headlines from remote Kastellorizo over the weekend when he again reiterated that the country is ready to defend its territorial integrity and sovereign rights, a message coming directly in the face of an increasingly bellicose tone emanating from official Ankara over the recent period.
The Erdogan administration, using the now overwhelmingly pro-government media in the country as an amplifying force, has been doubly irked by Athens’ burgeoning strategic relationship with Israel and the Greek side’s moves to consolidate maritime sovereignty, i.e. delimitating marine parks, approving a maritime spatial planning map, tendering blocks south of Crete for hydrocarbon exploration and insisting on moving ahead with an ambition project to lay an undersea power cable to connect mainland Greece with the power grids of Cyprus and Israel.
“We threaten no one, but we accept neither threats nor instructions from anyone,” Mitsotakis said, stressing that Greece’s restraint “must not be interpreted as weakness.”
Describing Kastellorizo as a “Greek and European outpost,” Mitsotakis said Greece seeks friendly relations without tensions or provocations while remaining committed to international law and the law of the sea.
Speaking during events marking the 83rd anniversary of the island’s liberation, he said Greece’s policy rests on a “twin priority”: pursuing a responsible, patriotic and realistic foreign policy while strengthening the country’s deterrent capabilities.
Mitsotakis also stressed that Kastellorizo is “not just another one of our islands,” describing it as the country’s easternmost point, where Greece’s borders coincide with Europe’s borders. He added Greece wants a future of peace while rejecting revisionist ambitions and remaining open to mutual respect and international legality.
€5,000 annual incentive for residents
Mitsotakis also announced a package of permanent economic and social incentives aimed at strengthening the island and supporting its residents, describing the people of Kastellorizo as the “Thermopylae of the Aegean.”
The measures include an annual 5,000-euro allowance for personnel working in all public services, security forces and the armed forces. A separate 5,000-euro annual settlement and retention incentive will be provided per household, tax-free and protected from seizure, with an additional 1,000 euros for each minor. Eligibility requires residents to remain on Kastellorizo for at least one full year.
The government will also strengthen the island’s links with mainland Greece and the rest of the Dodecanese islands by adding a subsidized weekly ferry service on the Piraeus-Rhodes-Kastellorizo route every Wednesday, from the beginning of 2027.
The visit came as Turkish media claimed it as “highly provocative,” reviving Ankara’s demands over the demilitarization of the nearby islets of Ro and Strongyli, where Mitsotakis also visited.
