Defense Minister Nikos Dendias senta message to Turkey, emphasizing that Greece is obligated “by the Constitution to defend its borders and rights, ” against the backdrop of the upcoming Turkish bill on maritime claims extending up to 200 nautical miles in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Speaking at the conference organized by Evangelos Venizelos’ Circle of Ideas and the Delphi Economic Forum, and in light of his participation in the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the Defense Minister noted that he does not belong“to those who have believed the‘calmwaters’ narrative,” adding that any confirmation of the Turkish leaks regarding the bill would constitute a “particularly troubling development,” given that Greece has not proceeded“with any illegal claims.”
At the same time, he stated that he would not wish to encourage public debate around leaked information, noting, however, that Turkey is“accustomed to such practices.”
“I didn’t ask NATO for permission to deploy the Patriots to Karpathos”
He also referred to the deployment of Patriot systems on Karpathos, clarifying that Greece did not seek permission from NATO for their deployment.
“I didn’t ask NATO to send the Patriots to Karpathos, so we have no reason to ask them in order to get them,” Mr. Dendias stated emphatically.
As he explained, the presence of the Patriots was linked to the threat from Iran, and should that threat resurface, “they will be redeployed wherever the national interest requires.”
Ukraine owes us an apology for the drone
Ukraine“owes us an apology, but also an absolute assurance that something like this will not happen again in the wider region,” the minister emphasized, referring to the drone that was detected in Lefkada about two weeks ago.
As he noted during an event attended by the Ukrainian minister, who participated via videoconference from Kyiv, he urged participants to consider what might have happened if the drone had collided with a cruise ship in the Ionian Sea.
“How many deaths would we have had?” Mr. Dendias asked pointedly, emphasizing that investigations by the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA) show “beyond any doubt” that the drone had been built on behalf of Kyiv and was carrying out a mission for Ukrainian forces in the region.