Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis traveled to the remote island of Kastellorizo on Sunday and delivered a direct ...

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis traveled to the remote island of Kastellorizo on Sunday and delivered a direct message to Turkey, declaring that Greece seeks dialogue but will not accept threats, directives, or challenges to its sovereign rights. "We do not threaten anyone, but we will not accept threats or directives from anyone either. We are ready to defend our national integrity and our sovereign rights," Mitsotakis said from the island, which sits just two kilometers off the Turkish coast. He framed dialogue as "a choice of confidence and faith in international law," not weakness. The prime minister described Kastellorizo as an emblematic place to signal Greece's intentions, noting that its territory is simultaneously European territory. He said the doors remain closed to any revisionist ambitions, while the path to mutual respect and international legality stays open. Mitsotakis also referenced the island's painful association with 2010, when Kastellorizo was chosen as the backdrop for Greece's entry into its first international bailout. He said the image from that day "embittered" many Greeks and that the island never deserved that association. Today, he argued, things look very different both on Kastellorizo and across Greece. Beyond the geopolitical message, Mitsotakis announced a package of concrete measures to strengthen the island and incentivize residents to stay. Public servants, security forces, and military personnel stationed there will receive an annual salary bonus of 5,000 euros. A separate tax-free annual residency incentive of 5,000 euros per household will also be introduced, rising by 1,000 euros for each minor child in the home, with first payments for current residents expected in early 2027. Additional measures include an extra subsidized weekly ferry route on the Piraeus-Rhodes-Kastellorizo line starting next year, infrastructure works at the port, airport, and road network, and the reconstruction of old homes to provide free housing for doctors, teachers, coast guard officers, and other public servants assigned to the island. "There are no two-speed citizens," Mitsotakis concluded. #Greece #Turkey #Kastellorizo