In an interview he gave to the newspaper “FREE SUNDAY” and the journalist Dimitris Chrisikopoulos, the Alternate Minister of National Defence, Dimitris Vitsas, stated the following:

QUESTION: First of all, I would like to talk about the F-16 upgrade. Is there “something rotten” as Ms Bakoyiannis implied?

ANSWER: As far as what Ms. Bakoyiannis stated is concerned, she has been invited and challenged to elaborate on her statement. She hasn’t answered yet. For us, our main issue is to strengthen the reinforcement of both the country and the Hellenic Air Force. We shall do the same thing for the Army and the Navy as well. The F-16 upgrade is not a new issue. It was a request from the Air Force, which we forwarded and will now materialise.

QUESTION: Speaking of this project, the President of the United States said that the cost of the upgrade will be $2.4 bil.; on the other side, the Greek Government asserts that it will not surpass €1.1 bil. Can you explain this divergence?

ANSWER: The President of the United States mostly referred to the upgrade of 123 F-16 aircraft to Viper, while we discuss about the upgrade of 85 F-16. It is not a technical issue as far as the kind of upgrade we want is concerned; we have defined that part very specifically. What we discuss is the financial part and the time schedule of their delivery, so as to have the first upgraded aircraft as soon as possible, within 2019 if at all possible, and the rest of them not long after that. Therefore, we are talking about the upgrade of 85 F-16 combat aircraft to Viper; of course, we will continue with upgrading our entire F-16 fleet, as well as maintaining our Mirage aircraft. Our goal is to reinforce our role by ensuring our sovereign rights in the Aegean Sea. We choose peace, yet peace is ensured by keeping and upgrading our Armed Forces’ deterrence force. The cost of the F-16 upgrade has been included to our budget for armaments programmes, whilst the upgrade and maintenance of other weapon systems, as well as targeted purchases, have been budgeted.

QUESTION: I would also like you to tell me what is this story with the sale of military materiel to Saudi Arabia. What does the Opposition accuse you of?  

ANSWER: Essentially, this story is part of the Opposition’s communication policy which has multiple goals, one of which would be to hide the modus operandi of an elite group in Greece – let me remind you the Paradise Papers, as well as other lists. At the same time, it reveals its obsessive aim and mindset to target Panos Kammenos. Let’s set the story straight: we have seen so far that it started by an alleged report made by a Brigadier-General, which was never submitted to the General Staffs though. This is the first and main issue. The second, and obvious, issue is that from the Hellenic Public Sector’s side, there were no intermediaries, nor representatives. What we always use is the GDDIA and the MOD which have given, by the Minister, the necessary paperwork.

QUESTION: Facing Turkey’s continuous provocations, what is the Hellenic Defence Ministry’s position?

ANSWER: This is not something new. We believe that actual problems should be discussed, they should become the subject of diplomacy; however, inexistent problems should not be discussed. We have made clear that, as far as our sovereign rights are concerned, as they emerge from international treaties and confirm what was achieved by the Greek people throughout the course of creating the Greek state, we will not take any steps back. For us, there are no “grey zones”, nor will we enter any process of legalising such contestations.

QUESTION: Let’s change the subject. The Prime Minister declared that the Government will distribute the so-called yearly “social dividend” for the second time, yet the Opposition blames the Government that it collects five and gives back one. Could you comment on that?

ANSWER: The period of memoranda has been unjust to almost all the Greek people, mainly the workpeople, the lower income brackets and the middle class. It created hundreds of thousands of unemployed, it destroyed the structures of social state. During our course exiting the crisis, first of all we rectify and protect those who have suffered the greatest blow. It is the Government’s policy. Throughout this process, the New Democracy party chooses a miserly opposition policy, pretending to forget that it was one of the two major leading factors who drove us to the current situation. We are the Greek people’s alternative so as to exit this condition, to stabilise the country, to follow the path to development and implement a new productive model which will consolidate a sense of safety. Therefore, those who took measures that led to the sinking of lower incomes, the dissolution of the middle class, those who brought unemployment to 30% and never gave anything back – among them financial interests and political families who made profit in the middle of the crisis– now blame us, the ones that help the country exit the crisis and manage to support the weaker. At this effort, we do not forget the personnel of the Armed Forces who have been protected in the best possible way during our tenure, by actions taken by the Ministry of National Defence. This is achieved in several ways, but also through the social dividend for low-income personnel; at the same time, we consider – in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance – to resolve other issues as well, such as the full implementation of the decision taken by the Council of the State.

QUESTION: The New Democracy party asserts that the allocation of the social dividend marks the countdown towards the elections, which could be even within 2018. What do you answer to that?  

ANSWER: The New Democracy party will have to refer to the social dividend of the years 2017 and 2018 in the parliament, because the elections will take place in 2019. This is something that scares them and drives them to contradictions and ridiculous arguments. It is obvious that they are only interested in taking the power and overthrowing the government and the hope brought by the SYRIZA party; this is the reason why a series of communication manoeuvres are made which, however, fail.

QUESTION: I would also like you to comment on the electoral procedures in the Centre-left. Do you believe that a third pole is being created?   

ANSWER: We do not choose to interfere with what happens in the Center-left, yet we cannot but comment on what we see and hear. They are internal procedures of a party which hasn’t been formed yet and we will see in the future its final form. However, we observe that these procedures are on the basis of the New Democracy party’s approach, asserting that these elections were an anti-government referendum. They have to decide on the character and the political identity of their political party, beyond any kind of distortions and organisational self-annulments, such as the fact that you could vote for a Head of the party while being a member of another party. We say that, at European but also at Greek level, the two big historical trends, the Radical Left and the Left Socialdemocracy, should meet. Whether this will happen is something that does not depend on one side only.

QUESTION: We witnessed a new natural disaster. What is the role of the Armed Forces?   

ANSWER: We were immediately activated, by giving out machines and personnel, opening reception areas, putting at a state of readiness the Units all around the country, giving special leaves of absence to the personnel imminently related to that area etc. Right before that, the Armed Forces helped in the islands of Symi and Samothraki, as well as elsewhere. Moreover, their contribution is essential in the successful management of the refugee crisis by our country. The social mission of the Armed Forces is an integral part of their overall mission, which is to ensure Greece’s territorial integrity. The Armed Forces are part of the state mechanism that possesses the means and human resources enabling it to intervene in emergencies.