The Minister of National Defence Mr. Dimitris Avramopoulos met today at the Ministry of National Defence with a Cypriot delegation comprised of the Chairman of the Committee on Educational Affairs of the House of Representatives Mr. Nikos Tornaritis, the Chairman of the Defence Parliamentary Committee Mr. Ghiorgos Varnavas, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Educational Affairs Mr. Ghiorgos Tassou and the MPs of the “AKEL” political party Mr. Ghiorgos Gheorgiou, of the “DIKO” Ghiorgos Prokopiou, of the “EUROPEAN PARTY” Mr. Nikos Koutsou and the representative of the Maronite group Mr Antonis Hatziroussos.

During their meeting, a briefing took place concerning matters pertaining to both countries, and the following statements were made:

The Minister of National Defence Mr. D. Avramopoulos:

First of all, allow me to apologise for the small delay, yet I think that it was justified by the fact that we were notified at 8:30 this morning, just before you embarked on your airplane, and the fact that we managed to meet indicates the readiness in the reaction of our national defence’s system, as far as the Cypriot issues are concerned.

The Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, even though he had a very important previous engagement, as soon as he heard ‘Cyprus’, the noblest of his sentiments for this island were evoked, and especially for your delegation, which relates to the very delicate sector of education, since it is there where lie the roots for everything, and from where all historical, ethical and national messages derive.

Thus, we welcome you here today with all our heart, the delegates of the House of Representatives and of the Government. We want you to feel at home, as it is your home here; since, the Hellenic Armed Forces are the guarantee for the protection, sovereignty and security of Cyprus.

So, we welcome you and, acknowledging that your schedule must be very tight, I would like to ask the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff to give his directions and orders so as to proceed to a short briefing for you to know where you are today and how all this connects to the security of our beloved Cyprus.

The Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Μ. Kostarakos:

Mister Minister, gentlemen, allow me to welcome you on your visit here, at the Ministry of National Defence. I shall not expatiate, our signals are well-known.

You are aware of the fact that Cyprus is the central issue of our defence effort and a region for which we are disposed to offer our most valuable and sacred assets. However, I shall not proceed to further details.

We have prepared a small, short briefing on matters concerning Greece and Cyprus. During our discussion later, we can elaborate certain issues. Please feel free to interrupt at any point, if you want to say or add something.

The Chairman of the Committee on Educational Affairs of the House of Representatives Mr. Nikos Tornaritis:

Mister Minister of National Defence of Greece,

Gentlemen, Staff Officers of the Ministry of National Defence, we would like to sincerely thank you for your welcome, your hospitality and, chiefly, for the briefing that preceded.

I must tell you that I am leaving this room feeling more secure and more proud, on account of what you do. I always believed and I still believe that the best defence for every region, for every nation, particularly when this nation has a limited territory, is education.

It is for this reason that we are here today in Greece, on an official visit, so as to make contacts with the competent Minister of Education, with the Hellenic Parliament for matters pertaining to education.

We are here today to heartily thank the Hellenic people since for years it has been educating for free several generations of Cypriots, while also sending millions of books free of charge.

At the same time, mister Minister, by thanking you personally, acknowledging your love and care for Cyprus, we are thanking the Hellenic people for the fact that they grant this feeling of security to Cyprus, keeping there the personnel of the Hellenic Force of Cyprus, the weapon systems and, in any case, the message you personally send out, that Greece will be present, at any difficulty Cyprus will encounter.

For us, this is extremely important. We honestly thank you and hopefully, and this is a heartfelt hope, this message will spread to Greece and Cyprus, since many things unite us, we are not just two independent nations, we do not just have common history, we also have a common future.