[PIO] The President of the Republic received the Minister of National Defence of Greece

The strengthening of the deterrent power of the Republic of Cyprus is a priority for the Government, President of the Republic Mr.Nicos Christodoulides said today, who received the new Minister of National Defence of Greece, Mr.

In welcoming Mr. Dendias, the President of the Republic said that "it is always a great pleasure to meet you, my friend Nikos, as it is now to welcome you to Cyprus in your new capacity.

I am sure that as Defence Minister we will also work together perfectly, as we did when we were both Foreign Ministers, especially at the present juncture with all these challenges that Greece and Cyprus have to face, not only on a regional level, but also on a broader European level, and on the occasion of the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Greece and Cyprus are pillars of stability and security in the region and this has been the main message that we have both been sending through our actions and this will continue now. We do not believe that any offensive actions solve problems. On the contrary, they create problems and through our long-standing behavior we demonstrate that we do not believe in such solutions. But, strengthening the deterrent power of the Republic of Cyprus, and you will have a meeting with the Defence Minister later on, is one of the priorities of our own administration and it is something that also arises from the need to address Turkish behaviour in Cyprus.

But also more generally, today, for the Republic of Cyprus as an EU member state, at a time of particular geostrategic importance, where we have to deal with many threats such as terrorism, asymmetric threats and many others, it is important to strengthen the deterrent power of our country. And in this context I am sure that our cooperation will be excellent and with your presence at the Ministry of Defence in Greece we feel even more secure."

For his part, Mr. Dendias said that "I am always happy to be in Cyprus and I thank you very much for the opportunity that you give me and the Chief of Defence to meet you and have a discussion."

There is a long cooperation. Greece and Cyprus have always been forces of stability, forces that strive for the implementation of international law such as the law of the sea, international relations. This is the perception of things, this was very clear in the Ukrainian case, and when the issue of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence and the implementation of the UN Charter was put on the table, we were both on the right side.

It is a great pleasure to meet my counterpart, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, to meet again my former colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, and also to have the great honour of going to the National Guard.

It is always an important opportunity for me to be able to exchange views and hear what you have to tell us, it's a huge experience for me."
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