ATHENS

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Monday that the country will deploy navy vessels off the coast of Libya to deter rising migration flow to the country, which has seen a spike in recent weeks.

“I have asked the defense minister and the leadership of the armed forces to ensure that Greek Navy ships are sent outside Libyan territorial waters, so that, as a deterrent and always in cooperation with the Libyan authorities and the other European forces, we can send a message that (migrant) smugglers will not dictate who enters our country,” Mitsotakis said during his meeting with President Konstantinos Tasoulas, according to public broadcaster ERT.

He added that he will raise the issue with his European counterparts during the EU Council meeting next week.

Mitsotakis also commented on recent developments in the Middle East, which have further escalated with US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, by reiterating that Greece, in line with the EU position, opposes Iran acquiring nuclear powers.

“However, further escalation in military operations may lead to many more problems than those it will solve,” he noted.

“Therefore, I would like to once again call on all parties involved to return to the negotiating table, so that even at the last moment a further military escalation can be avoided, which, as you understand, may also have economic consequences for the global economy and for the course of inflation,” Mitsotakis added.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said American forces bombed Iran’s Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites.

The US targeted the sites with six bunker-buster bombs dropped on the Fordo facility with B-2 stealth bombers and dozens of submarine-launched cruise missile striking the Natanz and Isfahan facilities.

The attacks came as the latest escalation in a US-backed Israeli military assault on Iran since June 13, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory attacks on Israel.

Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.

In Iran, at least 430 people have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.