The Greece-based newspaper Kathimerini reported that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took a dig at Ankara over its increasingly aggressive stance towards Greece on Thursday, indicating that the Turkish government is seeking to deflect attention away from the country’s economic spiral.

“If we had inflation running at 85% in Greece, I would also be trying to change the subject,” the Greek premier said in comments after the conclusion of the Western Balkans Summit in Berlin.

Asked his reaction to the incendiary claims emanating from Ankara, Mitsotakis said “if I responded to the statements of Turkish officials every time they provoked Greece, I don’t think I’d be doing anything else.”

“As I have said before, we will not enter a futile verbal exchange. Greece’s positions are crystal clear. They have been presented many times and I have nothing more to add to that,” Mitsotakis said.