ATHENS – No one can accuse Greece of creating chaos, Alternate Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said on Tuesday, noting that Turkey, with its provocative actions, was the one disrupting stability in the region.

In an online interview focusing on Greece's presidency of the Council of Europe, Varvitsiotis was invited to comment on a Turkish foreign ministry announcement referring to "an axis of evil that seeks chaos and instability in the Eastern Mediterranean," which was issued in response to a joint statement made by Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, France and the United Arab Emirates.

"I don't think anyone can today accuse Greece of creating chaos. It is others who are playing at the game of gunboat politics in the Mediterranean and disrupting the stability of the region with their provocative actions," Varvitsiotis said and added:

"Diplomatic actions are decidedly not those causing the disruption. Overflights and violations of national sovereignty, however, are something that can lead to difficult situations."