John Bolton calls for strengthening Greece against Türkiye

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, known for his anti-Türkiye stance, gave a statement to the Greek press.

Bolton, who was dismissed from his post during Donald Trump's US Presidency, once again targeted Türkiye with his statements.

Stating that Türkiye is a geographically critical member of NATO due to its location in the Straits and the Middle East, Bolton argued that Greece should be strengthened in return.

Athens calls against Ankara

"This has been a bigger problem under Erdoğan," Bolton said:

Strengthening NATO's south-eastern flank is more important than ever in today's world.

If the Turks are not willing to step responsibly under the Erdogan government, then I think this will increase the importance of Greece and the role that Greece is ready to assume.

Because we need a strong NATO presence in the Mediterranean.

Bolton said he believed that a stronger NATO required a stronger involvement of Greece.

"The US is not putting enough pressure on Türkiy"

"We still have a lot of work to do," Bolton said, claiming that Turkey has "caused problems" in many aspects of Sweden's NATO membership:

I think that the US has not put enough pressure on Türkiye on this issue. Therefore, instability and tension in the Eastern Mediterranean will continue in the near future.

Greek defence It will be critical

John Bolton also expressed his position that military cooperation between the US and Greece should be increased:

I think Greece has an important role not only for the Black Sea but also for the Mediterranean. We are now seeing developments in the Middle East and Africa that will have a great impact on Europe.

Greece's position as a Mediterranean country will be absolutely critical. Therefore, I would prefer a more extensive US military presence and co-operation with Greece.

Words targeting Türkiye

Bolton said that he thought that closer co-operation between Greece, the US and the UK would "solve the Turkish problem" and added: "Maybe this will help us to show a way forward."