Mitsotakis backs Sinai monastery deal with Egypt, comments on basketball bribery arrests

Sinai monastery accord

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis used his weekly review, posted on Facebook on Sunday, 25 October 2026, to describe the agreement between the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine of Sinai and Egypt as a development of lasting importance. He said the text is special and legally binding, guaranteeing in perpetuity the monastery's religious character and monastic way of life, along with the exclusive use and possession of its places of worship by its brotherhood, with Egypt as guarantor. According to him, the deal settles an institutional gap of 1,500 years that had left the monastery's very existence exposed. The Greek government backed the effort in cooperation with Egypt and with respect for the monastery's autonomy.

Mitsotakis stressed the consensus of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Jerusalem, and the Archbishops of Athens and Cyprus, which he said sent a strong message of unity. He thanked the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, and personally thanked the foreign minister for coordinating the effort. He also said he had contacted Archbishop Symeon of Sinai directly to express Greek support for the monastery's decisions.

“There are legacies that go beyond the horizon of every government and every generation. It is our duty to hand them down safely to the next.”

Greece and Egypt maritime talks

Mitsotakis linked the accord to the restart, the same week, of Greek-Egyptian negotiations on delimiting the remaining part of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between the two countries, following the agreement his government signed in 2020. He said the two developments confirm the depth of a relationship of trust with tangible results. Against revisionist claims by neighbours that lack a basis in international law, he said Greece answers with strong alliances in the Arab world, dialogue and legally binding agreements. He added that this policy requires patience, preparation and consistency.

Basketball and Pizza Fan arrests

Mitsotakis said that this week arrests were made of the president of the Hellenic Basketball Federation and of referees, in an investigation into bribery and the manipulation of games. He also referred to arrests in the case of the well-known restaurant chain Pizza Fan, over what he described as an alleged organised mechanism of large-scale tax evasion. He called these serious cases on which the judiciary will rule, with full respect for the presumption of innocence.

He then recalled a statement from the ΔΕΘ in September 2023, in which he made the rule of law a central mission of his term.

“When the state leaves holes in the nets of controls, the 'big fish' get through, and the other citizens feel they are being wronged.”

He said that corruption in sport harms athletes' effort and children's belief that work and talent are rewarded on fair terms.

Other items in the review

The review also covered the vote on a 15-year minimum age for access to social media, where Mitsotakis criticised the stance taken by PASOK. Beyond these issues, he listed developments in artificial intelligence, the labour market, tourism, exports and the upgrade of the National Archaeological Museum.