The Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, attended today, Thursday 1 October 2026, the events for the 66th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Cyprus, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, in Nicosia.
According to the relevant announcement, Dendias, accompanied by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Choupis, attended the trisagion service held at the Imprisoned Graves and laid, together with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, a wreath, in the presence of the President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus Annita Demetriou, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus Vasilis Palmas and the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Emmanouil Theodorou.
Subsequently, the Minister of National Defence went to the Presidential Palace, where he was received by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides.
At the start of the meeting, Dendias thanked the President of the Republic of Cyprus for the warm welcome and conveyed to him the congratulations and warmest greetings of the Greek government, the Greek prime minister and the Greek people.
“First of all, I want to convey to you the congratulations and warmest greetings of the Greek Government, the Greek Prime Minister, but also of the entire Greek people, who always, over time, stand by Cypriot Hellenism and today, on the day of Cypriot Independence, celebrate with you,” he said.
Mr. Dendias assured that Greece will continue to stand by Cyprus, both as a brotherly state and within the framework of the common European family.
“I would like to assure you that we too, with the new capabilities that we are creating in the Greek Armed Forces, will always be by your side as brothers, but also within the framework of our common European family,” he noted.
Immediately afterwards, Mr. Dendias laid, together with Mr. Christodoulides, a wreath at the statue of Archbishop Makarios III, at the Presidential Palace.
Dendias’ message from the parade
Afterwards, Mr. Dendias attended the established parade for the 66th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Cyprus.
After the end of the parade, the Minister of National Defence stated that it is a “great joy and great honor” for him to be present in Nicosia together with the Chief of the Greek Armed Forces, General Choupis.
Mr. Dendias described the Republic of Cyprus as “an independent, democratic, sovereign European state” that is completing 66 years of life, speaking of “an example of success, an example of prosperity”.
At the same time, he underlined that it cannot be forgotten that the Republic of Cyprus “for more than half a century, has been suffering the consequences of invasion and occupation”.
The Minister of National Defence also referred to the issue of deterrence, noting that “freedom, sovereignty, security, democracy require defensive strength”.
As he said, Greece is creating this deterrent capability through the “Agenda 2030”, with “absolute commitment to International Law” and to the International Law of the Sea.
He placed particular emphasis on Greece’s symbolic presence at the parade, referring to the Greek fighter jets that flew over the parade area, as well as to the presence of ELDYK.
“Greece, therefore, is and will be here. Greece is and will remain close,” he stressed characteristically.
Finally, he referred to the warm welcome extended to him by Cypriot Hellenism, saying: “I will not forget the emotion I felt” and that he will convey to Athens “this feeling of unity, love and support”.
Concluding, he wished “Happy anniversary from the heart to the Republic of Cyprus”.
The meeting with Nikos Christodoulides
Earlier, Mr. Dendias, accompanied by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Choupis, attended the trisagion service held at the Imprisoned Graves and laid, together with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, a wreath.
Then, the Minister of National Defence went to the Presidential Palace, where he was received by Mr. Christodoulides. During the meeting, which took place in a particularly warm atmosphere, Mr. Dendias gave the assurance that Greece will stand “always by” Cyprus, both as a brotherly state and within the framework of the common European family.
At the start of the meeting, the Greek minister thanked the President of Cyprus for the warm welcome, which he described as “courteous” and full of love, while he also referred to the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, Vasilis Palmas.
Mr. Dendias noted that Mr. Christodoulides’ love for Greece is “evident”, adding that this is felt both by himself and by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, as well as by the Greek Armed Forces.
At the same time, he conveyed the congratulations and warmest greetings of the Greek government, the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the Greek people, who, as he stressed, “always, over time, stand by Cypriot Hellenism” and, on the occasion of the day of Cypriot Independence, “celebrate with you”.
He also assured that, with the new capabilities being created in the Greek Armed Forces, Greece will continue to stand by Cyprus.
In closing, he thanked the President of Cyprus once again for the welcome, which he described as full of love and beyond the “well-known Cypriot hospitality”, and conveyed to him his wishes for health and for the long life of the Republic of Cyprus under his Presidency.
At the same time, he referred to the “timeless perception of Hellenism” that there is an obligation to support the “brotherly Cypriot state”.
The Greek presence at the parade
Also attending the parade were the Chief of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, representatives of the Armed Forces from Egypt, France and the United States of America, ambassadors, defence attachés of foreign countries and other officials.
On the part of the Greek Armed Forces, infantry units of ELDYK and vehicles took part, including Hummer, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) “LEONIDAS” and M106.
Also participating was a platoon of Cypriot students of the Higher Military Educational Institutions (SSE, SND, SI) and a platoon of Cypriot students of the Higher Military NCO Schools (SMY, SMYN, SMYA), while a pair of Greek F-16 fighter aircraft flew over the parade area.
As part of the celebration, the frigate “Nikiforos Fokas” is moored at the port of Larnaca and is open to the public for visits.
Yesterday, Wednesday 30 September 2026, the minister met in Nicosia with the president of the Union of Displaced Communities of Famagusta and chairman of the Committee of Occupied Communities, Michalis Tziortas, the president of the Union of Communities of Kyrenia District, Andreas Athanasiou, and the member of the Occupied Communities Committee Dimitris Cheilimintris.
Earlier, he had met with the Archbishop of New Justiniana and all Cyprus, Georgios.