On Thursday, 04 August 2022, the Minister of National Defence Mr Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos had a meeting with the Defence Minister of Estonia Mr Hanno Pevkur, who is conducting an official visit to Greece. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr Nikolaos Chardalias, HNDGS/Chief General Konstantinos Floros, HNGS/Chief Vice Admiral Stylianos Petrakis HN, HAFGS/Chief Lieutenant General Themistoklis Bourolias and HAGS/Deputy Chief Lieutenant General Georgios Kellis, substituting HAGS/Chief.
During the meeting, the Minister of National Defence pointed out that, both during the visit of his Estonian counterpart in Greece and his own preceding official visit last November in Estonia, the strong friendship of the two countries and their close defence cooperation was confirmed, both bilaterally and in the context of the EU and NATO.
As Mr Panagiotopoulos stated: “Our wish is to deepen and reinforce the cooperation between Greece and Estonia”. In this context, the participation of Greek and Estonian military personnel in mutual, beneficial, training programmes and activities was discussed, organised in the two countries.
The security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Baltic region was also discussed.
The Minister pointed out that the climate of tension that Turkey is creating, undermines the security and stability in our region and NATO’s cohesion.
Regarding developments in Ukraine, following the unprovoked Russian invasion, the solidarity and will to contribute and support Ukraine by every possible means was declared.
The Minister also stated that Greece has strong alliances, which are based on the rules of International Law and the principle of good neighbouring relations and the visit of his Estonian counterpart provided the opportunity for a more complete understanding of the threats and challenges that the two countries face and for reinforcing their cooperation to deal with them effectively.
During their joint statements to the Press, the two Ministers pointed out the following:
NIKOLAOS PANAGIOTOPOULOS: “Dear Minister, dear Hanno,
It is a great pleasure to welcome you today in Athens, in the Ministry of National Defence. Your visit in Greece, as my visit in Estonia, provided the opportunity to reconfirm the strong friendship of our countries, as well as our close military cooperation, both bilaterally and in the context of the EU and NATO.
We share the same values and principles and a joint vision for peace, security and stability in Europe and beyond. Today we had a very constructive meeting. Our joint wish is to deepen and reinforce the cooperation between Greece and Estonia and, in this context, we discussed about the participation of Greek and Estonian army officers in mutually beneficial programmes and activities, organised in our countries and in our training facilities.
With Minister Pevkur we discussed the security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Baltic region. I had the opportunity to point out that the climate of tension that Turkey is unfortunately creating undermines the security and stability in our region and NATO’s cohesion.
We also discussed the developments in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, and repeated our will to help Ukraine by every possible means.
Greece had always been supportive of initiatives which promote the stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean and our wider region.
We must create strong alliances with friendly countries, based on the rules of International Law and the principle of good neighbouring relations. I am glad that our discussions with Minister Pevkur were very useful to better understand the threats and challenges that our countries face and discuss how we can effectively deal with them, through joint efforts.
Minister, dear Hanno,
I would like to thank you for your visit and wish you every success in your new, demanding duties”.
HANNO PEVKUR: “Dear Minister,
First of all, I am glad to state that it is a privilege and honor to be in Athens once again. It is a beautiful country and hospitality is always warm. No matter if I come unofficially as a tourist or officially, hospitality has always been above expectations.
I would like to point out that on the 6th of May Estonia and Greece celebrated the centenary of diplomatic relations. It is an important anniversary and a milestone, based on which we will further develop our relations in the defence sector. So, in order to understand it, geographically speaking, we are “front line” states, in different sides of NATO and the EU. This brings us closer and helps us better understand each other’s Security concerns.
Estonia surely pays much attention in the Security of the Mediterranean and we commit our selves to preserve peace and security in the Alliance. Solidarity and unity among Allies are especially important and our efforts in the South, the East and the North support each other in Security matters of the Alliance. Taking into account the position of Estonia on the map, we cannot overlook the Russian aggression exercised at this moment in Ukraine.
Russia disobeys the rules and considers itself as a global superpower; the war in Ukraine shows that Russia does not hesitate to use military force. The Russian Armed Forces operate in Ukraine at this moment, they remain there and they will continue to threaten the Security in the wider region. I honestly believe that Ukraine needs our help and support and I am very glad that Greece makes an essential effort to help Ukraine.
The help to Estonia until today amounts approximately to 245 million euro, which is almost the 13% of our Defence Budget, but we are looking to increase it in the weeks to come. I am very glad that Ukraine is a candidate for joining the EU. Regarding NATO, it is important that the decisions made in Madrid Summit are under an implementation process.
This shows a very good cooperation and we must have a very good cooperation for these decisions and their implementation. So, regarding international cooperation, it is very important for us, despite the fact that we do not participate at the moment in international missions. Looking back, regarding the cooperation in “Takuba” task force in Mali, it was a very important and successful cooperation for us. Internationally speaking, we are looking forward to having more cooperations of this kind.
So, to sum up, Estonia and Greece, and not only we, but everybody in the Alliance, will take the necessary measures to keep NATO’s alliance safe and, from my point of view, there is no other alternative but to support Ukraine. We must help Ukraine as much as possible. So, in summary, this is what I had to say today and I really appreciate the hospitality once again. I am looking forward to the next cooperation programmes.
Thank you”.
