N. Hardalias: Greece as the last outpost of the West to the East will continue to fulfill its historic mission

“The history of the countries from which the hybrid threats come is nothing more than a record of kleptocracy, a record of murder, torture and human suffering. In the face of this ever-present threat of totalitarianism, as well as the ambiguous attitude of its various “cunningly neutral” companions, Greece, as the last outpost of the West to the East, will continue. to carry out its historic mission as a bastion of freedom, democracy and high liberal values ​​”.

This was pointed out, among others, by the Deputy Minister of National Defense, Nikos Hardalias, at the opening session of the “2nd Forum on Hybrid Threats, Cyber-security, and Artificial Intelligence” with the subject of dialogue “Hybrid Threats and Greece: Developments, trends, institutional framework, and state resilience “, held at the Club of Armed Forces Officers, on the two days 15 and 16 June 2022 by the Institute of Foreign Affairs and is under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece and NATO.

For Greece, he observed, dealing with various forms of hybrid threats has been an integral part of our military preparation and our wider national vigilance for several decades. In some cases, even forms of hybrid warfare that are being faced for the first time by some of our partners, have been previously tested against Greece. “This is because the Russian Federation is not the only source of disturbance in the international legal order, nor is it the only malicious actor in the wider region of the western world,” he added, recalling that “the whole planet witnessed the in March 2020, Turkey against our country with a single goal, the destabilization of Greece and the exercise of pressure on the European Union. One and a half years later, we found that malicious Turkish methods found imitators of other authoritarian regimes in Eastern Europe. In the second half of 2021, the European Union faced the challenge of the President of Belarus Lukashenko, who threatened to flood Europe with illegal immigrants in response to European sanctions against his authoritarian regime.

Greece is therefore accustomed to dealing with and repelling hybrid threats. Armed with international law and with a strong and ever-improving national security infrastructure, we defend our national interests against any form of malicious attack, overt or covert: on our land, air and sea borders, in our cyberspace, in the active and in the field of debate and negotiation, no international movement can feel confident that it can threaten us. And of course, everyone knows very well, our “red lines”, he said characteristically ..

Mr. Hardalias urged constant vigilance, study and analysis as “hybrid threats are constantly evolving and taking new forms.”

“Our reaction in all cases has been immediate, it has been effective. Under the solid leadership of a ruthless and determined prime minister, we have restored national defense and security, which, yes, are our goal, at the forefront of government priorities. We have acted. “We will do our patriotic duty untouched, consistently, continuously, with a view to the future: A future where our Greece will be even stronger, it will be prosperous, in a united, inviolable and self-sufficient Europe”, he concluded ..

During the inaugural session, a greeting was also addressed by a representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, the Chief of General Staff, Rear Admiral Konstantinos Kellaris, as a representative of the Chief of General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, and the President of the External Institute.

The Forum is a field for the development and exchange of ideas of various personalities, distinguished Greek and foreign speakers in the field of politics, academia and business, the Armed Forces and the Security Forces, high-ranking officials of ministries, government agencies, international organizations, international organizations. ) and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions.

Source: AMPE