ATHENS 

Greek recognition of Palestine would come only after an UN-supervised political process, the nation’s prime minister said Thursday.

“For Greece, recognition of a Palestinian state will only come at the end of a political process, which must also have the auspices of the United Nations,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a speech to parliament on defense and foreign policy issues in the wake of the ceasefire deal brokered by the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye.

He added: “Greece is strengthening its partnership with Israel. We see Israel as a strategic partner, regardless of which government happens to be ruling Israel at a given time.”

Mitsotakis also made the case that his conservative government had improved the country’s stature in global politics and defense capabilities.

Particularly on defense, he pointed to the modernization of the air force through updating the US-made F-16s and purchasing French-made Rafale and US-made F-35 jets and also through the navy’s acquisition of four French-made FDI type frigates.

Saying that the government has been successful in defending the country’s interests in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean and vis-à-vis Türkiye, he warned against “pseudo-nationalism.”

Better relations with Türkiye served Greek interests as seen in falling numbers of irregular migrants and more Turkish tourists, among other benefits, he explained.

- Opposition slams 'embracing ethnic cleansing'

Rebuffing Mitsotakis, Nikos Androulakis, leader of the main opposition party PASOK, argued that the premier avoided mentioning the government’s “major shortcomings and failures.”

As to Mitsotakis’ participation in Monday’s Egypt summit on Gaza, which the government painted as a success, he argued that European leaders, including Mitsotakis, had served merely as “stage dressing” for U.S. President Donald Trump’s summit.

Also slamming the government’s “one-sided alignment” with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu government, Androulakis said: “There is a difference between a strategic partnership with the people of Israel and embracing ethnic cleansing.”

Sokratis Famellos, leader of the left-wing SYRIZA party, said Greece is now on the sidelines, not at the center of developments, and accused the premier of making Greece “a predictable client state of the US.”

He also called for “immediate recognition of the state of Palestine” and condemned the government’s “one-sided support for Netanyahu.”

It is a disgrace that Greece did not join other nations in acknowledging the genocide of the Palestinian people, Famellos stressed.