×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Friday
16
Jan 2026
weather symbol
Athens 10°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Politics

Erdogan disrupts NATO unity amid Putin’s threat to European security

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan negotiates political gains with NATO's expansion

Newsroom May 27 11:14

Internal NATO relations have become increasingly strained following Turkey’s apparent refusal to allow Sweden and Finland into the fold, with fellow NATO member Greece becoming the latest European nation on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s chopping block.

Erdogan took a swing at Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis this week when he accused him of attempting to block a U.S. arms sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.

“There’s no longer anyone called Mitsotakis in my book,” he told reporters following a Monday cabinet meeting.

The Turkish president also said he would refuse to meet his Greek counterpart for a previously planned summit later this year.

Erdogan’s comments came a week after the Greek prime minister met with U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill and urged them to consider NATO’s security when making “defense procurement decisions concerning the eastern Mediterranean.”

“We are always open to dialogue. But there is only one framework we can use to resolve our differences – international law and the unwritten principle of good neighborly relations,” Mitsotakis told U.S. lawmakers. “The last thing that NATO needs at a time when our focus is on helping Ukraine defeat Russia’s aggression is another source of instability on NATO’s southeastern flank.”

See Also:

Turkey launches military incursion into Northern Syria

The Greek prime minister did not mention Erdogan or neighboring Ankara, but his comments alluded to a long-standing spat with Turkey over alleged airspace violations.

>Related articles

“Aunt Pecu,” who lived outside all protocol: Who the unconventional and eccentric princess Irene was

High-tech fraud – SMS blaster attack: Bank data stolen using special equipment installed in a car’s trunk

Ballistic missile strike hits pier in Ukraine

Turkey and Greece, both of whom are NATO members, have shared a complex relationship for more than a century. But Athens and Ankara’s latest tiff amid Russia’s aggression in Europe could spell trouble for the very military alliance that Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to see dismantled.

“All nations act in their own self-interest, all the time,” Michael Ryan, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO, told Fox News. “[Erdogan] defines the Turkish self-interests and he defines how they pursue it. And in this case, he views Turkey as a rising regional power, and he is pushing hard in every direction to certain Turkish prerogatives.”

Read more: Fox News

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#cyprus#diplomacy#eu#europe#Finland#greece#Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis#invasion#Joe Biden#NATO#politics#russia#Russian President Vladimir Putin#security#Stability#sweden#turkey#Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan#ukraine#usa#war#world
> More Politics

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Sophie Turner’s first photo as Lara Croft released for Tomb Raider series

January 15, 2026

Obst sealed the win at the end against Panathinaikos as Bayern defeated them 85–78 in Munich

January 15, 2026

“You think you are descendants of Plato and Aristotle, but you’re not” – Rama’s tirade against Greek journalist, watch video

January 15, 2026

“Aunt Pecu,” who lived outside all protocol: Who the unconventional and eccentric princess Irene was

January 15, 2026

High-tech fraud – SMS blaster attack: Bank data stolen using special equipment installed in a car’s trunk

January 15, 2026

Ballistic missile strike hits pier in Ukraine

January 15, 2026

Ursula von der Leyen from the Green Line: Pushing for a solution to the Cyprus issue is a priority

January 15, 2026

The ordeal of a 28-year-old Greek man in Australia: He went on holiday to visit relatives, was injured at a beach, and is at risk of quadriplegia

January 15, 2026
All News

> Science

How was cancer treated in ancient Greece?

According to Galen, the most common types of cancer were the uterus and breast cancer found in women

July 11, 2018

Reptilian-mammal fossil changes the timeline of supercontinent breakup

May 25, 2018

Russia & US will cooperate to build moon’s first space station

September 28, 2017

Computer solves a major time travel problem

June 15, 2017

Why we can’t trust academic journals to tell the scientific truth

June 6, 2017
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα