Turkey has not fundamentally changed its policy towards Greece, but if it becomes more aggressive, the European Union can always hit it with sanctions, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said this during a meeting of the European People's Party in Strasbourg, Kathimerini reported.

He also thanked the MEPs of the EPP for their support to Greece.

“This is why we took this two-tier approach, extending a hand of friendship while at the same time we have prepared a set of possible restrictive measures that could be used if Turkey returns to an aggressive attitude towards Greece and Cyprus," Mitsotakis reportedly said during a meeting with MEPs of the European People’s Party.

Mitsotakis also stressed the strategic importance of the Eastern Mediterranean for European energy needs and politics.

“The Eastern Mediterranean is becoming much more important in terms of exploring alternative energy sources, such as natural gas in the form of LNG, which could be exported from Egypt…We are also actively promoting electricity interconnections with Africa, in our case with Egypt,” Mitsotakis said.