The terms and conditions have not been met and there is no question of a request for Cyprus to join NATO at the moment, Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides said.
In his remarks on the sidelines of a session of the Parliamentary Defence Committee, the Defence Minister said that the European Council discussed the implementation of the compass strategy and within the European Defence Agency they supported the creation of an innovation hub, which will be able to provide flexibility in matters of innovation in defence and security issues, as well as the exclusion of defence expenditure from the budget deficit procedure.
Mr. Petrides said they also supported the simplification of procedures for joint procurement of defence equipment, and were briefed by the Ukrainian Defence Minister on the war in his country.
The Defence Minister said, in response to a question, that the war crisis in Ukraine will be prolonged and several countries appear to be continuing to send military material to Ukraine.
Asked about Greece's defense agreements with the US, Petrides said that the strengthening of Greece's positions, defense or diplomatic, is positive news for Cyprus as well.
Regarding NATO, he continued, we see how Turkey reacts to the membership of Finland and Sweden. So, there is no question and there is currently no discussion of a request for Cyprus to join NATO, he said in response to a question. He added that in order for Cyprus to join NATO, certain terms and conditions would have to be met and at this point there is no such issue.
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