Mr.Minister of National Defence of Greece,
Dear friend Nikos,
It is a great honour to pay my first official visit to Athens since taking office.
Thank you for the warm welcome and for the very substantial consultations.
The long-standing and unbroken relations between Cyprus and Greece form the basis for our close defence and military cooperation.
Our countries together, in full consultation, continue to be pillars of peace, security, stability, development and prosperity in the turbulent geopolitical environment of the Eastern Mediterranean.
The recent decision of the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the Prime Minister of Greece to establish a High Council for Intergovernmental Cooperation is an important step in strengthening coordination.
Our aim is, inter alia, to strengthen consultation structures on defence policy issues, transnational cooperation and coordination to define common objectives and strategy on major issues.
In this context, we decided to activate the decision to set up a political consultation body with a view to holding the first meeting of the two sides as soon as possible to prepare concrete proposals.
We also discussed the development of the trilateral cooperation schemes, the quadrilateral initiative with France and Italy and set out our common objectives for each of them. Our countries are attractive partners for defence cooperation and this is due to the policy of openness and self-confidence that we exude.
On the subject of cooperation within the EU, we noted the particularly high level of cooperation in areas of European capability development through the PESCO permanent structured cooperation programmes and the European Defence Fund. We will continue along this path, taking advantage of new perspectives that are opening up, both from the joint military equipment procurement programme and from emerging issues such as tackling climate change in the defence sector and the energy sustainability of the armed forces.
We also had a particularly productive exchange of views on the defence cooperation that Cyprus and Greece have developed with the US. Cyprus aims to further deepen its cooperation with the US, especially after the full lifting of the arms embargo and our upcoming entry into the State Partnership Program with the New Jersey National Guard.
Mr. Minister,
On behalf of the Cyprus Government, I would like to reiterate that we will continue to work tirelessly, together, to achieve all that we seek for our countries and our wider region.
Turkey, disregarding its obligations towards the Republic of Cyprus and international law, is using anachronistic concepts and maximalist demands to undermine the hopes of resolving the Cyprus problem on the basis of the principles and values of the European Union.
In this direction, as the President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Christodoulides has repeatedly stated, the more active involvement of the EU will be a decisive factor for breaking the deadlock and resuming the talks.
Cyprus and Greece, in cooperation with our EU partners, remain steadfastly committed to defending our sovereign rights and the fundamental principles of freedom and democracy, just as our ancestors did.
On the occasion of tomorrow's National Anniversary of March 25th, I wish a Happy Birthday to Hellenism everywhere.
(ΕΠ)
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