N. Panagiotopoulos from Munich: Europe to stand united in the Ukrainian – Turkey to change its behavior

The participation of the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, in the Munich Security Conference has been completed.

The proceedings of the Conference took place from 16 to 18 February. On the sidelines of the Conference, the Greek Minister had a series of meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel Benny Ganz and the Federal Minister of Defense of Germany Christine Lambrecht.

They discussed issues of further strengthening of the bilateral defense relations and the developments in the wider region.

N. Panagiotopoulos also took part in a working breakfast chaired by former US Secretary of Defense James Norman Mattis, during which he presented Greece’s contribution to the security and stability of the region.

The event was attended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, the Ministers of Defense of Canada, the Netherlands and Finland and the chairmen of the Armed Forces and Intelligence Committees of the US House of Representatives.

Europe must stand united and determined, communicating to all sides that diplomacy must be sacrificed at all costs, and that prevention must work at the same time, in order to avoid ignition in Ukraine. This was also stressed by the Minister of National Defense, speaking to Deutsche Welle.

He described the situation in Ukraine as “very worrying” and said that Greece “has both the will and the prestige to contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis”.

He stressed that “the channel of communication with the Russian side must be kept open at all costs, so that diplomatic efforts can be made to de-escalate this tension.”

“That,” he added, “is the reason why the Foreign Minister went to Moscow for meetings with his counterpart, Mr. Lavrov.”

Regarding the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the southern pillar of NATO, N. Panagiotopoulos stressed that “it is subject to elaboration in the framework of the internal processes of NATO, but also of the EU”.

“We have demonstrated that we are acting as a pillar of stability and security, as a force that guarantees peace and stability,” he said. .Ε. At the same time, however, we have developed an equally intensive effort to upgrade the overall capability of our Armed Forces. ”

“The mixture of diplomacy and deterrence has paid off, but in any case we must remain vigilant, given that our neighbors insist on a revisionist and often provocative behavior,” clarified N. Panagiotopoulos.

He emphasized two directions, saying “more diplomacy and deterrence through the reinforcement of the Armed Forces”.

He referred in particular to the acquisition of the three “Bellara” frigates, but also of six other “Rafal” aircraft, while he pointed out: “The effort does not stop at some point, it just continues. With a plan and priorities”.

“Turkey to change its behavior”

The confidence-building initiative “becomes ineffective when accompanied by ongoing Turkish delinquent behavior (such as overflights) that nullifies its purpose and spirit”, ie “the rapprochement of the two sides”. If Turkey “has honest and good intentions, it should change this behavior.” This was emphasized, among others, in an article in “Parapolitika” by Mr. Panagiotopoulos.

He stressed that “meetings at the political and institutional level are still taking place, the communication channel will remain and must remain open.”

“I believe,” he said, “that Turkey should not abandon diplomacy.”

“It is a fact,” he added, “that the media is experiencing a recent escalation of provocative, aggressive and directly offensive statements about our country.

He estimated that “these reactions are mainly for internal consumption by the public opinion of the neighbor”.

“We”, he points out, “will continue our work without fear. In order to have tangible results in the field of diplomacy, we must be even better in ‘Defense’, and since July 2019 we have been working hard every day to strengthen the Armed Forces.” .

“We have solved,” he stressed, “a series of problems that lingered, such as the contracts or the subsequent support of the Mirage 2000-5, the C-130, the C-27 and the NH-90. That is why we are upgrading 82 F-fighters. 16 in the “Viper” version, we supply the 24 state-of-the-art “Rafale” fighters and at the same time 3 + 1 digital frigates “Belh @ rra” as well as the Romeo anti-submarine helicopters and we continue “.

“Provisions for the human resources of the Armed Forces are also included in this integrated, prioritized and costed plan,” added N. Panagiotopoulos.

“We propose”, he continued, “the active Defense Diplomacy, having succeeded in creating and strengthening a strong network of alliances at bilateral and multilateral level, utilizing every opportunity to increase our national strength and making our country a key pillar of security and stability in our region.” “.

“We are doing this because we want good relations and conditions of peace, security and stability with all the countries of the region with which we share common principles, values ​​and tradition. Because this way we will ensure security and prosperity for our peoples,” the minister concluded in his article. National Defense.

Source: AMPE