Journalist: Minister, we have bought three Belharra frigates, six more Rafale, should we wait until the end of the year for the purchase of three corvettes from France?

Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos: Do not rash things. These decisions presuppose months of intensive consultations and negotiations among various agencies (military and financial staffs, companies, governments), in the context of covering the Armed Forces needs and the financial planning, on the basis of fiscal capabilities. So, it is a complex and time consuming procedure. In addition, following the announcement regarding the frigates and the Rafale, the main negotiation is starting, so that we will soon sign the purchase contracts, possibly by the end of the year. This is our priority at the moment: the corvettes purchase as an alternative. The purchase of a fourth frigate will be a future concern, not yet.

Journalist: Why did the agreement with France and the frigates procurement not take place earlier? Were there countries that tried to block both?

Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos: The purchase of new frigates is not a simple case. The Belharra had already been proposed by the French as a solution since February 2016, before even the final configuration of the ship by the manufacturing company was finalised. The negotiations for the purchase of two ships lasted more than four years. In August 2020, we estimated that the final offer was financially unprofitable, on the basis of our capabilities and planning and we froze the negotiation and sought other proposals from other countries as well, under the rule of the Navy’s demands. This unofficial competition resulted in an option, ideal for the Navy’s needs and especially attractive with regard to the final price and the ships’ delivery timetable. Given that all countries that participated in the procedure are Greece’s allies and partners in Europe and NATO, it is obvious that there was no game “under the table”. We ended up with the more suitable option for our needs, as identified by the Navy’s experts.

Journalist: But, is it the case that we are engaging in a “rally” of armaments with Turkey, running the risk of derailing ourselves financially as well?

Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos: As I said in the Parliament a few days ago, we do not have an armaments competition with Turkey, but a race to cover gaps of many years regarding the renewal and upgrading of weapon systems, in order to reinforce the total deterrent power of the country’s Armed Forces. The expenditures for armaments are in accord with the new forces’ structure 2020-2025, in accordance with the Uniform Mid-Term Program of Defence Armaments of this period, and the total fiscal planning of the government for the years to come. We have submitted an overall, cost estimated and prioritised plan to the Prime Minister. We have received his approval and we proceed based on this, in cooperation with the financial staff of the Ministry of Finance. In addition, we make adjustments wherever and whenever needed. So, for example, we had rejected the offer for two Belharra frigates amounting to 3.3 billion in August 2020, as financially unprofitable, and we did not regret it.

Journalist: The first reactions from Turkey show irritation. Do you anticipate a “hot” winter, with increased Turkish provocativeness?

Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos: Turkey’s irritation does not concern us. Our duty and mission is the country’s reinforcement against any threat, in a fluid geopolitical environment, under worrying destabilisation tendencies. We seek this reinforcement and in some degree we accelerate it through, on one hand the diplomatic defence effort that reinforces and upgrades alliances with friendly countries, and on the other hand, through an organised reinforcement plan of the Armed Forces’ overall deterrent power, which has been under expeditious and effective implementation for the last two years. Regarding possible tensions with Turkey in the future, I stand by my opinion that such a perspective does not benefit anyone.

Journalist: Will the renewal of the Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) with the U.S. satisfy both sides? Indeed, is there engagement regarding sites that we would like to be included in the agreement, like Skyros and Petrohorion, Xanthi?

Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos: The USA is and will always be a main strategic partner of Greece. The Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement depicts this relation exactly and it is constantly under a process of upgrade in recent years. In a few days, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will go to Washington to sign the revised agreement, while at the same time, the strategic dialogue between the two sides will take place. Regarding the sites, we jointly choose with the American side to invest even more in the already existing four ones, in which very important cooperations are under development, at the level of defence synergies between Greece and the U.S. I deem that at this stage, expanding the cooperation is more important than examining other sites. This stance obviously represents both sides.

Journalist: The possible dispatch of a Greek military force in Sub-Saharan Africa (Sahel) is under intense discussions. Why is the Greek presence necessary there?

Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos: The region of Sub-Saharan Africa and the situation there represents a potential destabilisation threat regarding vital geopolitical interests of the EU, due to the vicinity with North Africa and the Mediterranean. The arising destabilisation points, with terrorist and Jihadist groups taking action in the region, have nothing to do with the colonial past, but rather with a gloomy destabilisation future and security threats. France leads the European initiative of governments’ support of the region’s countries against this threat, inevitably with military assets as well. 9 European countries have already participated with assets and personnel, while 13 more have declared their intention of participating, with Greece being one of them. So, the initiative gathers great support from European countries, in the context of the especially upgraded allied relation with France. We believe that Greece must contribute its support to France, the country which is our friend, but also to the effort of achieving the strategic autonomy of the EU, with deeds and not with words.

Journalist: Shall we see the new national rifle marching on?

Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos: The national rifle is another programme whose implementation has been announced, but not this year. At this moment, the proposals of eight foreign companies are under consideration by HAGS staff officers. The Greek side requests, as a binding prerequisite, the co-production of the rifle in Greece, with transfer of know-how to the domestic defence industry. I predict that we will reach the final option stage in the next year.