“Good morning. I asked this press conference today, so that you are fully informed on all issues regarding the Ministry of National Defence. Let me inform you on NATO Summit held on the 11th of July, on the armaments programs which are progressing and let me present an initial briefing about the day following Eurogroup’s decision and the period after the 21st of August, that is Greece’s exit from the memoranda period.
 
Let me clear a few things from the beginning. First of all, my absence from the Ministerial council yesterday had to do with the handling of a case with regard to the Ministry of National Defence, for which I had to be constantly on the phone. There was no other reason and the scenarios presented today have no validity.

Regarding the Skopje issue and because I wish to close this issue, I want to be completely clear. You attended the National Council’s meeting and you heard the decision taken. For us, the draft agreement at Prespes has no validity and it does not create any commitment for Greece until it is ratified by the Hellenic Parliament.

All the other conditions which have been included for the agreement to be valid, are conditions which the state of Skopje must fulfill. As long as they are not fulfilled, until the ratification by the Hellenic Parliament, the Bucharest decision will be applied.

Specifically, the prerequisite set for an invitation to join NATO, was that Prespes agreement must be ratified by the Parliament of Skopje. At this point, I would like to clear that even this ratification, which initially occurred in Skopje, is not valid, because it is not signed by the President of FYROM. So, this decision, once again, has no validity.

Secondly, as the Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and NATO Secretary General Mr. Stoltenberg stated, there can be no commitment on behalf of the country and no procedure can be initiated in NATO, if the referendum in Skopje is not concluded, and the Parliament vote on the said issue and the constitutional changes are not ratified.

To end this discussion, I would like to state clearly that I take the responsibility, as President of the ‘INDEPENDENT GREEKS’ party, a party-movement participating in the coalition government, that the agreement will not be ratified without asking the Greek people’s opinion. The Greek people will decide, unless 180 members of the Parliament vote for it and the New Democracy and PASOK parties change their attitude. In this case, there is nothing we can do. We will not allow, though, the agreement to be ratified, without the Greek people’s approval, which is achieved in two ways, either through elections or through a referendum. I take the responsibility. There will be no ratification of the agreement.

Regarding armaments issues, I am pleased to inform you that we are at the final negotiations stage, regarding the F-16 upgrade. The negotiations with the American side have already been concluded and I believe that in the next days and until Thessaloniki International Fair, we will have concluded all the procedures.

A team of the French armaments directorate is here, in Greece, today and it discusses the FREMM issue with the General Directorate of Defence Investments and Armaments. We have already started the discussion procedures regarding FREMM frigates, in accordance with the 2009 decision of the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and National Defence. The follow on support for Mirage was signed. In the next days, the follow on support for C-27 will be under further discussion. At the same time, upon the American side’s request, we have submitted a list of the means we need for the Armed Forces of the country.

I would also like to inform you that all the necessary procedures are underway for the Armed Forces of the country to be ready to respond to the obligations that may arise, following the declarations of the Exclusive Economic Zone.

Finally, I would like to inform you that the obligations our government – and I personally as Minister – have been committed to since the day I took office regarding the wages of the Armed Forces personnel, will be fulfilled. We are in contact with the Prime Minister and the competent financial advisors at this stage and I believe that, until the opening day of Thessaloniki International Fair, we will be able to announce it officially.”