Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his “abhorrence” at the tragic strike against civilians at the hospital in Gaza Strip, in an interview at ANT1 TV’s main newscast and journalist Nikos Chatzinikolaou.
The Greek premier also called for clear answers as to the cause of the tragedy, as “we do not know who carried out the strike, and I will not rush into any conclusions,” adding that this is also the European Union’s official position in the matter.
Asked to comment on Turkey’s stance in this new crisis in the Middle East, Mitsotakis noted that “in contrast to Greece, whose stance is balanced, Turkey’s is not, and its non-explicit condemnation of Hamas as a terrorist organisation is problematic.”
He added, however, that the current Greek-Turkish dialogue is one of the few good news in the region and is unfolding in a good climate.
The PM said Greece does not want escalation of the conflict or a humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, while it is moving to strengthen domestic security and a stricter patrolling of borders.
“Greece’s word,” he pointed out, “carries a certain gravitas, as we are a sincere interlocutor with all the states in the broader region.”
Concerning the economic implications of the Middle East crisis, Mitsotakis said that global oil prices have not fluctuated significantly since this new tension in the Middle East.
Greek economy, he added, continues to grow at a rate higher than the European average, and that the government stands ready to help households and businesses should things take a turn for the worst.
The prime minister also rebuffed rumours of an imminent cabinet reshuffle, and defended his current cabinet’s drive to implement reforms.
Asked to comment on SYRIZA’s leader Stefanos Kasselakis, Mitsotakis noted that he was not underestimating him, but the fact that he is not a member of Parliament is a problem.
“He will be judged by his actions,” he added.
Commenting on scenarios that see SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance and PASOK-KINAL parties as merging, he said that “I see a SYRIZA struggling to avoid evaporating, and a PASOK struggling to become more like SYRIZA.”

Meanwhile, Palestinian Ambassador to Greece Yussef Dorkhom said that “as a friend of both Israel and Palestine, Greece can play a very important mediating role,” duringa press briefing held at the embassy on Wednesday.
Greece “always retained a balanced stance in international relations,” he added, and “we are looking forward to its positive role.”
“Moreover, Greece has always supported the two-state solution and the right of the Palestinian people to found their independent state on territory defined in 1967, with East Jerusalem as the capital.” Historically, he said, Greece supports International Law.
The Palestinian diplomat condemned the bombing of a hospital in Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, and observed that all attempts to peace seemed to have stopped after this fatal event.
He also denied Israel’s claim that the hospital was hit by a ricocheted missile, saying the related video Israel attributes to Al Jazeera was later removed from all official Israeli accounts following an investigation by the New York Times.
Asked whether he considers Hamas a terrorist organisation, the ambassador replied that”the only legal representative of the Palestinian people is the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and PLO is fully bound by all international agreements and International Law”.
Source: AMNA