The Minister of National Defence Panos Kammenos, in the context of his official visit to Washington, met at the Pentagon with the Deputy Secretary of Defence of the United States Christine Wormuth.
The Minister of National Defence made the following statement:
“In the framework of my official visit to Washington which started with a meeting at the Pentagon with Ms. Wormuth with whom we had a long discussion, for almost one hour, on matters pertaining to bilateral relations, NATO, the defence cooperation as well as the broader region of South-Eastern Mediterranean.
We exchanged views and we agreed that the discussions will continue. I consider this meeting to be a very important one. She explained to me that the Minister is at the White House right now, because the policy in the Middle East had to be regulated, and asked for a meeting as soon as possible.
We discussed on matters pertaining to NATO’s southern flank and particularly matters of terrorism and the role that Greece will play, the important role of Souda Bay and the Naval Base, as well as the creation of a NATO air base or the transportation of the activities actually ongoing in Crete to the island of Karpathos, following a proposition by the Greek Government and the Ministry of National Defence, after a suggestion made by the Hellenic Air Force.
I believe that the discussion was very constructive for the Balkan area as well, namely the proliferation of terrorism and fundamentalism in the Balkans, and the significance for the formation of a stability axis. Greece’s initiative, in cooperation with Egypt, Cyprus and the countries of the Middle East that stand against the ISIS, such as the UAE, and the expansion of this axis towards Bulgaria and Romania. I explained to her that, due to the financial crisis, Greece needs every help available, so as to reinforce its Armed Forces.
We introduced a series of suggestions which will be looked over by the American side. She affirmed the assistance from the American side, as it was declared by President Obama and the US Finance Secretary, the support towards Greece for the financial crisis and we also discussed the possibility for cooperation between our defence industries.
I will carry on the meetings with the Congress and the Senate, with the Defence Committees and the Heads of the Defence area, of both the governing party and the opposition, and the exchange of views with the think tanks and with the Assistant Secretary of State Ms Nuland, to whom we shall introduce the exact same issues and discuss the agenda pertaining to Greek-American relations”.
JOURNALIST: Was the issue of Russia brought up at the Pentagon?
P. KAMMENOS: It was. I explained that for us Russia, besides an ally and friend, with whom we are related to with indissoluble bonds, due to our common religion, is also a country we have financial relations with. By the measures taken, Greece is being afflicted by four billion Euros every year, and it has to consider the 1.5 million of tourists visiting Greece each year, as well as the exports of agricultural products. I explained to the Deputy Secretary that the Greek farmers have not been compensated yet for these issues. As far as Defence is concerned, it is clear that we maintain the means that have been integrated to the NATO planning; the S-300 guard Souda Bay.
She asked me to continue these measures, particularly for the Crimea. I explained that the issue of Ukraine is a sensitive issue for Greece, as 300,000 Greeks live in Mariupol and its suburbs, and these people feel safe close to the Orthodox Church. She comprehended this particularity of Greece and we reiterated the continuation of close Greek-American relations and the need to reinforce Greece as a stable agent in the region.
JOURNALIST: Therefore, you discerned the American’s will to carry on supporting Greece in the area of the economy?
P. KAMMENOS: It was clear.
JOURNALIST: Also, you discussed on matters of internal terrorism?
P. KAMMENOS: No, such an issue was not brought up and it was not discussed. They know that there is a close cooperation.
JOURNALIST: Mister Minister, allow me to return to the issue of your meeting with your American counterpart being cancelled. Was the explanation given by Ms. Wormuth satisfactory? Did she explain a reason other than the obvious; I mean the Minister’s meeting?
P. KAMMENOS: She explained to me that all the Minister’s meetings were cancelled; it had nothing to do with Greece. Obviously, we were concerned from this incident, right from the beginning. It was clear that it had to do with the cancellation of all the Minister’s meetings and, besides, we discussed the entire agenda planned; in any case, the Minister asked to meet with us soon. It was not a reaction, as it was described to be.
JOURNALIST: One last thing, as far as immigration is concerned and the substance of this issue, but also with regard to terrorism and the jihadists. Are the Americans willing to play an active role, or do they pass the buck to the Europeans?
P. KAMMENOS: Look; the role they currently have to play is the pressure towards Turkey, as three millions are now on the other side. Afterwards, immigration is a very sensitive issue. We exchanged views on European policy and NATO policy, which were jointly formulated at the Minister’s Council. If there is pressure from the part of Libya, this does not mean that there should be a common policy towards the eastern European borders, as it is clear that, if immigration is compressed on this side, it might increase on the other side. Therefore, one of the issues we should jointly face, respecting the immigrants’ rights, is the capability each country has to receive immigrants.
The issue of terrorists clearly concerns them and what we said – with regard to Russia you asked me for – is that in this issue, there should be cooperation with Russia. Many terrorists are Chechens. We say that, at the Boston marathon, the terrorists were Chechens. Therefore, we could not exclude cooperation for jointly facing this phenomenon, currently affecting both worlds. Thank you very much.
