Mitsotakis opposes 'collective punishment' and upholds Israel's right to self-defense.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke at the Cairo Peace Summit to discuss how to "de-escalate" the Israel-Hamas conflict. He strongly denounced terrorism while defending Israel's legal right to self-defense under international law.

"The one key message to come out of today should be that we all condemn terrorism in all its forms and we deplore the loss of life and the harm that has been inflicted on innocent civilians by the violence in Israel and in Gaza since the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas," Mitsotakis said to the crowd in the Egyptian capital.

On both sides, there are innocent victims. No talk of peace can be had while civilians are being held captive, he said.

The Greek prime minister also defended Israel's right to self-defense in accordance with humanitarian and international law.

Although in accordance with international humanitarian law, Israel is entitled to self-defense. I also want to be clear that the laws of war forbid collective punishment. And these laws were created to ensure that there are restrictions on the harm that can be done to other people when war must be fought, he continued.

In addition, Mitsotakis argued that the only workable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a two-state solution.

"Only with the restart of the peace process based on a two-state solution can we achieve the future of sustainable peace, stability, and prosperity. And one thing ought to be crystal clear to all of us: No amount of military intervention can take the place of a workable political solution.