PASOK foreign affairs spokesman Dimitris Mantzos has launched a sharp attack on Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis over the government's diplomatic policy toward Turkey. Mantzos accused the government of belatedly recognizing that calm waters with Ankara should not be an end in themselves.
In a formal statement following an interview given by Gerapetritis, the opposition official said the New Democracy administration had previously sent the opposite message. He argued that this approach allowed Turkey to mask its expanding revisionist ambitions under a pretense of good intentions.
Mantzos pointed to Turkey's maritime accord with Libya, signed during New Democracy's tenure, and the Blue Homeland doctrine as evidence of growing Turkish claims. He noted that the Blue Homeland concept now appears to be on the threshold of the Turkish National Assembly.
Criticism of Government Record
The PASOK representative criticized Gerapetritis for comparing his own record as minister to the period before 2023, as if another party had been in power rather than New Democracy. He accused the Foreign Minister of engaging in selective history to justify the actions and omissions of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's government.
According to Mantzos, previous governments failed to build on key diplomatic achievements. He said the outer limits of Greece's potential Exclusive Economic Zone were first secured internationally under Law 4001/2011, passed by George Papandreou's PASOK administration on the initiative of Giannis Maniatis. Mantzos stated that subsequent governments under SYRIZA-ANEL and New Democracy left this foundation unexploited for energy and geopolitical initiatives.
PASOK is Greece's main center-left opposition party, while New Democracy is the ruling center-right party led by Mitsotakis. Gerapetritis has served as Foreign Minister since June 2023, overseeing ongoing diplomatic talks aimed at managing long-standing maritime and territorial disputes between Greece and Turkey.
Energy Projects and EU Obligations
Mantzos also highlighted delayed compliance with European Union rules. He said Maritime Spatial Planning was a European obligation that should have been completed in 2021, but New Democracy only began implementation in 2025 following a condemnation by the Court of Justice of the European Union. He added that specific spatial frameworks remain incomplete.
The opposition spokesman further focused on the planned electricity interconnection between Greece and Cyprus. Mantzos said Gerapetritis had failed to provide a binding and clear implementation schedule for the project, despite repeated demands from PASOK President Nikos Androulakis.
Mantzos emphasized that the electrical grid link is not merely a project to end Cyprus's energy isolation. He stated that it is a project of common European interest directly tied to Greece's national sovereign rights, which were suspended following illegal Turkish actions off the island of Kasos in July 2024.
Calling for a consistent national strategy, Mantzos rejected what he described as government communication tactics and course corrections made under pressure from its own right wing. He concluded that Greek foreign policy requires seriousness, foresight, and honesty to build effective and lasting conditions for national interest.
