The Alternate Minister of National Defence Fotis Kouvelis accompanied by the Chief of HAGS Lieutenant General Alkiviadis Stefanis visited the Army Career NCO School in Trikala, where he attended the oath taking ceremony of the graduates and awarded them their diplomas. He also attended the opening ceremony of the Logistics building of the Career NCO School. Its construction was completed with a donation of the Republic of Cyprus to the Hellenic Armed Forces. The ceremony was also attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyriakos Kenevezos, and the Chief of the Cypriot National Guard General Staff Lieutenant General Ilias Leontaris, representatives of local authorities as well as relatives and friends of the graduates.
The Alternate Minister of National Defence Fotis Kouvelis, in his speech, underscored that Greece is a peaceful country and wants to promote peace and cooperation in the wider area. “We do not claim, he stressed, anything more or anything less than our national sovereignty right, as it has been set out concretely and clearly in the international treaties and International Law. We want peace to be promoted but we do not intend to concede any of our sovereignty rights”.
Addressing Turkey, he stressed:
Greece has a strong deterrence force. Its military personnel, from the lowest rank of private to the highest chain of command ranks, are brave and courageous; they follow a specific, well-formed military structure and they use the weapons of loyalty and devotion to their duties, readiness and vigilance, and to the ideals of this country.
Regarding yesterday’s meeting of the Greek Prime Minister with the Turkish president, he stated:
I am sorry but in yesterday’s NATO meeting there was no concrete commitment by Turkey’s President Mr. Erdogan concerning the release and return of our two military officers home. Of course, it is the first time that he did not connect, directly at least, as he did previously, the release and return home with the extradition of the 8 Turks who came to our country and asked for an asylum according to our national Law, the European Law and International Law. I believe that hopefully, through the continuous, hard efforts of the Greek government, our two officers will come back home soon.
The issue would have been solved if Turkey had not included our two officers’ arrest in the escalating tension, on its side, towards our country; they want to show this fluctuating tension, not because they believe that they can take anything from the Aegean Sea or from the Greek air space, but they want, following this practice, to keep the issue open so as to claim its presence in the wider area of Cyprus’ EEZ.
Addressing the students of the NCO School he noted:
Today, it is the day for all of us, men and women, to express our loyalty to our land, our right to defend our sovereignty national rights and state clearly that there is no case that Greek men and women would strike their flag or concede anything that belongs to them and let others claim it.
Answering a journalist’s question about what the American President said regarding the armament expenses and the armament competition on the side of Turkey, theAlternate Minister of National Defence stated:
Our country cannot follow and will not be involved by any means in the crazy race of armaments our neighbouring country seeks for. We do what is necessary to reinforce our deterrence forces. We do it constantly, responsibly and we state that our deterrence force is exceptionally capable.
