The Alternate Minister of National Defence Dimitris Vitsas in an interview that he gave on Tuesday, January 10, 2017, on ERA VOICE OF GREECE, stated, among other things:

Regarding the talks conducted over the Cyprus issue in Geneva:

The good thing is that there is a negotiation procedure which began 17 months ago and has made some progress. It would be very important if this could end here, that is if both concerned sides could reach an agreement, so that Cyprus can continue as a united independent state, based on UN resolutions. If negotiations reach a certain point, they should be continued afterwards too. So, there is an open way. We hope that this negotiation that takes place in Geneva will have a positive result. About whether I am an optimist, in the sense whether an issue which remains open for more than 40 years will be solved, I would say that I am somehow sceptical.

If Turkey accepted two things: the withdrawal of the occupation troops, of foreign troops from Cyprus and that Cyprus being a member of the UN and the European Union is an adequate guarantee, and, therefore, no further guarantees are required, then the other issues which have a political and technical character, such as the territorial issue, the governance system and the property issue, would be solved much more easily. So, in this sense, resulting in a final solution is up to Turkey. Personally, I do not see any such intention right now. I do not see it because Turkey is pressured by many issues and maybe it uses the negotiation about Cyprus as a “hidden card”. The government of Cyprus and our government have done everything that could be done and we wait for and expect an action of the other side.

Regarding Turkey’s aggressiveness on the Aegean Sea:

The issues which Turkey raises about the Aegean Sea do not exist for us. There are no “grey zones”. There are no issues regarding our sovereignty rights which have been established and we have the power and the determination to defend them and not allow any discussion about them.

Regarding the Armed Forces:

The Ministry of National Defence and the Armed Forces have been assigned a mission which is clearly defined in the Constitution. We are a peaceful country and we maintain our deterrence force. The deterrence force of the Armed Forces at present is at the best possible level and this is related to the manner in which we utilize our budget, as well as to the manner in which we employ and reinforce our personnel that enhances our force.

Regarding the probability of US redefining their policy on the area:

We will see whether it will happen; however, the foreign policy of the US does not change easily overnight. Changes take a long time to be done; we saw it during Obama’s presidency and the changes that took place. I estimate that we will not have any big changes; and the potential changes that may be implemented during Trump administration will also be tested by reality, since there are many interests and policies which interact with each other in the US and form the conditions. What I would like is a decisive action to be taken by the US for the war in Syria to end and ISIS to be defeated. This would be a strong decision for the consolidation of peace in the area and a strike against terrorism. On the other hand, I would like the attitude of taking military action as a solution to stop. It has been proved historically that this is not a solution. What should be confirmed in action in US-Russia relations are peaceful solutions. Perhaps we need a new Reykjavik summit as it took place several years ago, about nuclear weapons.

Regarding the issue of annual pay increases of Armed Forces’ personnel:

I would advise the official opposition to examine some things thoroughly. The Ministry of National Defence has submitted the equivalent measures to be taken since last September; however, we are about to see a reform of the salary scale in total, regarding all the categories of personnel to which it is applied. As a step of this procedure, this part of the law voted in May technically will be removed. Annual pay increases are usually implemented in September every year. The increases will be paid and Mr. Georgiadis’ statement will be proved wrong.