Mitsotakis at UN: Greece is a pillar of stability, not a troublemaker

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Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the 81st UN General Assembly in New York that Greece is “a pillar of stability and peace across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East,” not “a troublemaker state.”

His speech covered Greece–Turkey talks, Cyprus, maritime security, the Middle East, Ukraine, the Greek economy and artificial intelligence.

Greece–Turkey: dialogue only under UNCLOS

Mitsotakis said dialogue with Turkey should continue “provided it is conducted on the basis of respect for international law and the principles of good neighbourliness.”

He named the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the only framework for the two countries’ long-standing dispute: delimitation of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zones.

“The Law of the Sea must apply unhindered. Freedom of navigation must be implemented everywhere,” he said, citing Greece’s role in the EU’s Operation Aspides.

“We cannot change our geography. We are destined to live next to one another.”

He called Turkey’s casus belli “a source of tension” that deepens disputes rather than resolving them. Greece, he said, has made a “steady effort” to keep channels open and avoid crises.

“It is a delicate relationship. It is a relationship that carries the weight of history.” Any rapprochement, he added, must rest on international law and good-neighbourly principles.

Cyprus: a credibility test for the United Nations

Hours after Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides addressed the Assembly, Mitsotakis said 52 years after Turkey’s invasion the occupation remains a test of UN credibility.

“Fifty-two years have passed since Turkey illegally invaded Cyprus and continues to occupy it,” he said, calling it a flagrant violation of international law.

Greece supports Secretary-General António Guterres’s push to restart meaningful talks and wants that effort to continue under his successor, aiming at a reunited Cyprus “free of occupying forces,” based on UN Security Council resolutions.

Economy, Middle East and Ukraine

Mitsotakis linked Greece’s stronger global role to economic results: faster debt reduction than any other OECD country, investment inflows, rating upgrades and digital reform.

On the Middle East he restated support for a two-state solution and said “in the future the Palestinians must take control of Gaza.” On Syria he backed stability without violence against Greek Orthodox Christians.

On Ukraine he said Kyiv must have “a decisive say in its own future” and that “Europe cannot be absent from these negotiations.”

Artificial intelligence needs regulation, not self-regulation

Mitsotakis warned that AI is advancing too fast for voluntary corporate self-regulation. He called for a strong international framework and urged the United States, where leading models are built, to take responsibility. Cooperation, including with China, is essential.

AI, he said, must stay under human control — a challenge he compared to the historic need to govern nuclear energy so the technology serves humanity.

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