ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece will press ahead with its strategic defense cooperation with Israel but also wants to deepen relations with other states in the Middle East, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday.

Greece-Israeli ties and defense, security and energy cooperation have become increasingly close over the past decade, and Mitsotakis enjoys a friendly rapport with his counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. Shared concerns about Turkey have helped boost ties.

The two countries signed a 3 billion euro ($3.5 billion) deal on August 31 for Israel to build an air defense shield in Greece.

Mitsotakis told reporters in Thessaloniki that Greece is only one of five NATO countries spending at least 3.5 percent of its GDP on core defense.

Greece’s traditionally high spending has been fueled by almost constant tensions with Turkey, and its questioning of Greek sovereignty over parts of the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece recognizes only the demarcation of the two countries’ respective maritime zones as an issue to be negotiated or sent to international........

© The Times of Israel