“It is very important during this time to demonstrate calm and determination. We are internationalizing the challenges we face and we have launched a bold armament program with the acquisition of weapon systems that will shield the country’s defense”, emphasized Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, speaking today on SKAI TV and to journalists Dimitris Economou, Akis Pavlopoulos and Dora Koutrokoi.
Mr. Varvitsiotis stated that this is what the Greek people are asking for, as they are in favour of the Armed Forces being strengthened with weapons systems “which they had not imagined that they would have at their disposal in such a short time and with such transparent procedures”, as he pointedly said. The Alternate Minister noted that Europe has realized by now that Turkey is an “a la carte” ally for the West, and there is a growing number of EU partners who are concerned about Ankara’s refusal to ratify the NATO accession agreements of Finland and Sweden as well as its refusal to impose sanctions on Russia. As he stated, this constitutes a violation of Western sanctions against Russia, which the Greek government has been highlighting since the beginning of the war.
Lastly, referring to Olaf Scholz’s upcoming visit to Athens, Mr. Varvitsiotis said that the energy issue would be on the agenda of the talks, noting that with the Greek Prime Minister’s intervention at the last European Council, Germany realized that the imposition of a cap on gas prices would not affect its energy sufficiency. And as he stated, this is a significant step.