The Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikolaos Chardalias, representing the Minister Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, met with Bulgaria’s Minister of Defence Mr. Dragomir Zakov, on Thursday, 9 June 2022, at the Ministry of National Defence, in the context of the latter’s official visit to Athens.
The welcoming ceremony was attended by the Deputy Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff Vice Admiral Ioannis Drymousis, the Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Admiral Stylianos Petrakis, the Chief of Hellenic Air Force General Staff Lieutenant General Themistoklis Bourolias and the Deputy Chief of Hellenic Army General Staff Georgios Kellis.
During the talks, held in a cordial atmosphere in “Ioannis Kapodistrias” Conference Hall, it was underscored that Greece and Bulgaria have a strong and long-standing friendship, they are close EU partners and NATO allies and they share the same vision, values and perspective of stability and prosperity in our broader region. The two countries were pioneers in regional cooperation initiatives and they staunchly support the European perspective and the European future of all the countries in their neighbourhood.
In the meeting, the further reinforcement of the bilateral defence cooperation was discussed.
As far as Ukraine is concerned, it was stressed that the Russian invasion undermines the security and stability of Europe, and the commitment of both countries to continue the unwavering support to Ukraine in every possible way was expressed.
It was also underscored that revisionist actions are a major threat to Euro-Atlantic security and a blatant violation of the International Law and the fundamental values on which the European security architecture has been founded.
The security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean was also discussed, where tensions were recently intensified due to provocations and unilateral actions against Greece, in breach of the International Law.
The Deputy Minister of National Defence underscored that Greece, as an ally of Bulgaria, will contribute to the Bulgarian battle group with an anti-tank platoon. In addition, it will participate in NATO Early Warning activities with an Early Warning and Control aircraft which will operate in areas of the Bulgarian FIR.
In the end, Mr. Chardalias stressed the importance of the extension of NATO pipeline system, so that fuel can be transferred from the port of Alexandroupoli to Bulgaria and Romania.
