ATHENS — Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis underlined French President Emmanuel Macron's strong and active support to Greece in an interview released on Friday in the French newspaper "Le Figaro".

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank President Emmanuel Macron for his continued and strong support, both in words and in practice. As you know, Greece and France are traditional allies, strategic partners, and I personally consider the President of the French Republic one of the driving forces behind European solidarity and the renewal of our 'Union'," he pointed out.

Mitsotakis described the prospect of launching exploratory talks with Turkey as an "encouraging step in the right direction", stressing that the issue to be discussed will be that outlined in the conclusions of the last summit (October 1-2), ie the delimitation of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone.