Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday that he remains open to communication with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan although the Turkish president recently said that Mitsotakis "no longer exists for him."

"I am always ready to meet with the Turkish president," Mitsotakis said at a press conference in Thessaloniki on Sunday, adding that he hoped for talks at the first meeting of the European Political Community in Prague in early October. The heads of state and government of 44 countries are to be invited.

Relations between the two neighboring countries and fellow NATO members have deteriorated in recent weeks.

In May, Erdoğan cut ties with Mitsotakis and declared all other channels of communication between the countries closed.

Erdoğan said Mitsotakis "no longer exists" for him, after the Greek premier lobbied to block sales of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye during a visit to the United States, despite previously agreeing with Erdoğan "to not include third countries in our dispute."

Türkiye and Greece are at odds over a number of issues, including competing claims over jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, overlapping claims over their continental shelves, maritime boundaries, air space, energy, the ethnically split island of Cyprus, the status of the islands in the Aegean Sea and migrants.

Ankara accuses Athens of illegally militarizing Greek islands in the East Aegean and questions Greece's sovereignty over them. There is also a dispute over the exploitation of mineral resources in the Aegean.

Since the beginning of 2022, Greek warplanes have violated Turkish airspace 256 times and harassed Turkish jets on 158 occasions. Greek coast guard boats also violated Turkish territorial waters 33 times.

Despite the escalation, Mitsotakis said he "cannot imagine a war between Greece and Türkiye."

He added that the "aggressive rhetoric undermines good neighborly relations between Greece and Türkiye."

Asked by The Associated Press (AP) whether a recent escalation in rhetoric from Türkiye could be the prelude to an armed conflict, Mitsotakis replied negatively.

"I don’t believe this will ever happen."

Among the most recent developments that flared tensions was the harassment by two Greek coast guard boats opening fire on a cargo ship in international waters, continued pushbacks by Greek elements recorded by Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as well as the harassment of Turkish fighter jets under a NATO mission by Greece’s Russian-made S-300s.

It was reported recently that Turkish jets on a reconnaissance mission, flying in international airspace, had been harassed by the Greek defense system stationed on Crete. Athens rejects the claims.

Türkiye is planning to submit to NATO and its allies the radar logs showing how a Greek S-300 air defense system harassed Turkish F-16 jets during a mission in international airspace, sources said last week. Türkiye has also lodged a protest and demanded an explanation and investigation from Greece into an incident that was "totally in violation of international laws," according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

Meanwhile, the Greek government wrote letters to NATO, the European Union and the United Nations, asking them to formally condemn what they claim is increasingly aggressive talk by Turkish officials in response to the continued Greek violations, and suggesting that tensions could escalate into open conflict.

Pushbacks increasing

Mitsotakis on Sunday, touching on the issue of migration and ignoring illegal pushbacks, claimed Greece respects human rights.

"Our country is ready to face any challenge on the immigration front. We have proven that when we say we will guard our borders effectively but also with respect for fundamental rights, we are able to do it. This is how we will continue," he wrote on Twitter.

His words were refuted by the Norwegian nongovernmental organization (NGO) Aegean Boat Report (ABR), which said that the Greek Prime Minister was "lying" and shared its recent report on pushbacks.

According to the ABR, "Every single day in August, an average of 100 people have been found drifting in life rafts and rubber boats as a result of pushbacks performed by Greek authorities."

"Never before have so many people been pushed back in the Aegean Sea," it highlighted.

At a time when politicians and journalists have had a fixed focus on the war in Ukraine, energy crisis and Frontex, Greek authorities have taken the opportunity to increase their aggression toward refugees at the country’s borders. As a result, pushbacks have increased by more than 100% in the Aegean Sea," the report, which was released last week, said further.

It also criticized EU authorities for being "incapable or unwilling" to take action against an EU member state that engaged in rights violations.

"Since March 2020, more than 40,000 people have been pushed back in the Aegean Sea by Greek authorities, 850 life rafts have been found drifting, and numbers are rapidly increasing. So far this year, more than 300 rubber boats and close to 400 life rafts have been found drifting in the Aegean Sea, almost 15,000 people’s rights have been violated in just eight months."

Turkey and human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing back irregular migrants, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.

In recent years, hundreds of thousands have made short but perilous journeys across the Aegean to reach Northern and Western Europe in search of a better life. Hundreds of people have died at sea as many boats carrying refugees sank or capsized. The Turkish Coast Guard Command has rescued thousands of others.

Pushbacks are contrary to international refugee protection agreements, which dictate that people should not be expelled or returned to a country where their life and safety might be in danger due to their race, religion, nationality, or membership in a social or political group.