In a public statement Mitsotakis said the end of Maduro’s rule “offers new hope” for Venezuela and argued that the immediate priority should be a peaceful and rapid transition to a new, inclusive government with full democratic legitimacy. He added that Greece would coordinate its response with partners in the European Union and at the United Nations Security Council, while keeping its focus on the safety of Greek citizens in the country. Notably, he said it was “not the moment” to comment on the legality of recent actions.
The remark triggered widespread backlash across Greece’s political spectrum, largely because of its perceived indifference to international law. Critics argue that Greece, a country that routinely invokes international legality in disputes over Cyprus and the Aegean Sea, cannot afford ambiguity when major powers act unilaterally.
Former prime minister Antonis Samaras, who led the conservative New Democracy party before Mitsotakis, was among the most outspoken critics. He warned that international law is not selective and cannot be applied “at will or with delay,” stressing that Greece’s own security concerns make consistency on legality a national necessity.
Opposition figures aligned with former left-wing prime minister Alexis Tsipras accused Mitsotakis of displaying excessive deference toward Washington. They argued that by declining to address the legality of U.S. actions—while criticizing domestic opponents who did—he elevated political expediency over principle, damaging Greece’s international standing.
Political parties across the opposition echoed similar concerns. SYRIZA, Greece’s main opposition party, described the statement as “unthinkable,” arguing that international legality concerns all countries, everywhere. The New Left said the remarks signaled a dangerous shift in Greek foreign policy by openly subordinating law to political calculation, while the Communist Party condemned the statement as cynical and disgraceful, describing the U.S. action as an imperialist intervention.
The most severe warning came from Zoë Konstantopoulou, leader of the Plefsi Eleftherias party, who accused Donald Trump of waging an act of aggressive war without democratic or international authorization and warned that such actions could destabilize global peace. She called for the immediate convening of the Greek parliament, arguing that Greece’s foreign policy cannot be shaped through unilateral social media statements.
Former Greek president Prokopis Pavlopoulos also intervened, offering a more nuanced critique. While acknowledging Maduro as a brutal dictator responsible for grave crimes, Pavlopoulos argued that the U.S. operation itself appeared to violate the U.S. Constitution, which requires congressional approval for military actions abroad. He noted that this issue has been raised by major American media outlets.
The government attempted to deflect criticism by challenging other parties, including PASOK, to clarify their position on Maduro. PASOK responded sharply, asking how a country that has experienced invasion and occupation could hesitate to defend the primacy of international law and the UN Charter. “When a prime minister says it is not the time to discuss legality,” the party warned, “he effectively accepts that power comes before law.”
