A senior Greek government official has said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest remarks on Greek-Turkish relations mark a departure from recent rhetoric, after Mr. Erdogan told reporters in New York that Turkey is "not Greece's enemy" but rather its neighbor and NATO ally.
Speaking to journalists at the Turkish House on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Mr. Erdogan said bilateral relations are "too sensitive and important" to be used as campaign material ahead of Greek elections, adding that Ankara has no interest in Greece's domestic politics.
"Elections are held in Greece, governments change, the opposition changes. These are not our concern," he said, stressing that Turkey's own security remains his primary focus.
The senior Greek official, speaking to reporters in New York, called the comments "a different direction" from Mr. Erdogan's recent statements, adding that geography leaves the two countries "condemned" to coexist as neighbors and that reducing current tensions is a priority — tensions the official said Greece did not initiate.
According to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, Ankara has said it does not oppose the laying of undersea cables or development of connectivity infrastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean generally, but objects to survey or cable-laying activity in waters it claims sovereign rights over, and has called for advance diplomatic notification from flag states involved.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to address the U.N. General Assembly early Friday, followed by a Bloomberg Television interview at 3:15 p.m. Greek time.