Greek leader: EU must respond as one to Putin’s ‘blackmail’

By COSTAS KANTOURIS and DEMETRIS NELLAS
Associated Press

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece’s prime minister says the European Union should have a coordinated response to the challenge posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “blackmail” with the supply of natural gas. Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Saturday that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is meant to “legitimize a despotic authoritarianism and enable any local troublemaker” to do the same. That was a hardly veiled reference to Greece’s neighbor Turkey and the increasingly aggressive rhetoric of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The comments came as the Greek premier announced the government’s economic policies for the coming year, including a series of handouts and tax cuts aimed at helping households cope with the energy crisis and high inflation.