The Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, spoke on the show of Nikos Hatzinikolaou on Realfm 97.8.
“The constant Greek desire and the constant national interest is for Turkey to be a country included in the Western camp and a country that approaches not only the EU as an organization, but also the values, the principles of the European and Western edifice. Locations that justify terrorist attacks and indeed of this type, because I have seen videos and photos, are among the most tragic things that one can see, they cannot leave us alone,” he said initially.
“Our job in the context of the Greek-Turkish disputes is to maintain, as much as possible, this climate of recession that exists after the earthquakes in the neighboring country. But I would wish, because it would be a ray of hope for the overall resolution of our dispute, that Turkey’s general position was closer to Western standards. Greece always asks everyone to respect international and humanitarian law, this also applies to our friends and anyone and the state of Israel. We do not justify retaliation that constitutes an act of violence against civilians,” he added.
“There can be no direct participation of Greece in military operations, there is no such possibility. No one in the political system supports it, I think no one in Greek society either” he commented.
“Yesterday I accepted the proposal of the head of the Greek Defense Ministry, and the Greek frigate sailing outside Lebanon as part of the United Nations operation, will withdraw beyond 75 miles beyond the range of specific missiles and systems, for security reasons. Greece has no intention of becoming part of a military conflict. We have to watch what is happening very carefully,” he stressed.
“The violations are minimal and also there is a complete recession in all the phenomena that constituted our daily life for the entire previous three years. It’s another reality,” he described regarding Turkey’s attitude.
“There is a lull in the formulation of aggressive and illegal Turkish claims. But there is no revocation of them, there is only silence” he pointed out.
For the equipment
Regarding the armament programs of the Armed Forces, Nikos Dendias referred to the three Belharra frigates, the upgrade of the F-16 Viper fighter aircraft and the receipt of the Rafale type fighter aircraft, while he spoke about the Greek government’s attempt to convince the European Union on the issue funding and resources, as for example Greece and Luxembourg do not have the same operational needs but also threats and therefore if there is no positive outcome in the talks then there will be strict prioritization in the procurement of equipment.
“In the coming days there will be an announcement regarding legislation that has the ambition to create an ecosystem of innovation and development of the Greek defense industry, which will result in a ‘new reality’ in the manufacture of domestic defense technology products,” he said.
“There is money, but a system and a willingness are required, because Greece can no longer be only a buyer and consumer of equipment from abroad. Turkey cannot build drones and Greece is looking at it. This can’t be done,” he concluded.
