Commenting on the recent escalation of tensions between Greece and Turkey, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras sent a determined message to Turkey warning that although Greece welcomed and sought collaboration, it would not shy away from confrontation to defend every inch of its sovereign territory. “We will not negotiate, we will not concede, we will not bargain over a single inch of our land”, he said. “This place is a place where those who have lived it over the centuries know how to defend it”, he added in a determined tone. He said that he wanted to send a message of cooperation and peaceful co-existence but also of determination from the island of Kastellorizo, where Mr Tsipras inaugurated a desalination plant.

“Aggression and provocation are not a sign of power”, he went on to say about Turkey’s actions, adding that it was a sign of goodwill that “the Turkish Prime Minister called to express his condolences for an unfortunate incident for the Armed Forces [crash of fighter jet and death of pilot]”.

“Today, eight years after the Greek people learned the bad news about the memorandums, we have arrived at a point where we are leaving the tough days behind us (…) we have entered into the final stretch before a final and clean exit, clear as the clear sky of Kastellorizo, from the period of aggressive austerity and the suffocating surveillance that had a heavy cost”, the Greek PM remarked on the developments in the bailout programme and the country’s tough austerity measures.