The Minister of National Defence Mr Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos met, today 24 February 2023, with the Minister of Defence of the French Republic Mr Sébastien Lecornu, in the context of his official visit to Greece.
The two ministers participated in bilateral talks that took place in the “Ioannis Kapodistrias” Hall on issues pertinent to the further enhancement of the bilateral cooperation in the defence sector. Furthermore, issues of regional cooperation in the Balkans were discussed, security and stability challenges in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as the developments in Ukraine.
Other participants in the talks were the Deputy Chief of HNDGS Vice Admiral Frangiskos Leloudas, as representative of the Chief of HNDGS, the Chief of HAGS Lieutenant General Angelos Houdeloudis, the Chief of HNGS Vice Admiral Ioannis Drymousis and the Deputy Chief of HAFGS Major General Antonios Panidis, as representative of the Chief of HAFGS, the Ambassador of the French Republic in Athens Patrick Maisonnave, as well as extended delegations of the two sides.
After the talks and the private meeting of the two Ministers, statements were made to the Reporters of Military Affairs in the Press Room of the Ministry of National Defence:
NIKOLAOS PANAGIOTOPOULOS: “Minister, dear Sébastien, it is a particular honour and pleasure to welcome you today in Athens and the Ministry of National Defence.
Today’s visit certifies the strong and longstanding friendship of our countries and peoples, as well as our strategic relationship at a bilateral level as well as at the level of the EU and NATO.
We share the same fundamental principles and values, as well as a common vision for peace, security, stability and prosperity, in Europe as well as the Eastern Mediterranean.
The signing of the Bilateral Agreement of Strategic Partnership and Cooperation in the field of Defence and Security in September 2021, constituted a new landmark in our bilateral relations, as well as in the cooperation in the Armed Forces of Greece and France. The acquisition of the three state of the art “Belh@rra” frigates, which is underway, is the solid proof of this relationship, along with the 24 “Rafale” aircraft, twelve of which are already operational from the Tanagra Air Base, which we will visit today.
I would also like to express our satisfaction for the continuous presence of the French Naval Forces in the Eastern Mediterranean. They certainly contribute to the stability and security of the wider region. The previous week, the “Charles de Gaulle” aircraft carrier, which operates in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean sailed to Souda and cooperated with the Hellenic Air Force and Hellenic Navy, while “Provence” frigate sailed to the port of Iraklio in the context of its training sail.
We also talked with Minister Lecornu about the Security condition in the Eastern Mediterranean. On this occasion, I would like to once more express our solidarity to the Turkish people regarding the destructive earthquake of 6 February and furthermore stress Greece’s practical assistance early on, just like we should. We are always in favour of good neighbourly relations and we welcome the emerging de-escalation of tension in the region. Of course, I hope that it will be preserved in the future and that it will constitute the beginning of a new age in the two countries’ relations, as well as the beginning of a substantial discourse, based of course on International Law.
We also discussed with the Minister the developments in Ukraine. Today marks a year since the beginning of the Russian invasion, so we reaffirmed our volition to continue supporting Ukraine in any possible way for as long as necessary. Unfortunately, there is no end in sight regarding the conflicts and the affliction of the Ukrainian people, who battle with self-sacrifice and self-denial. Our support to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine was and remains steadfast.
In conclusion, Greece always supported initiatives for the promotion of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider region.
We have built strong alliances with friendly countries, based on the rules of International Law, with a characteristic example being the quadripartite scheme of Greece, France, Italy and Cyprus, which we decided to enrich during today’s talks with new activities.
I wish to state my extreme satisfaction that our discussion was very substantial regarding the extant security threats and challenges in our region and how through joint efforts, we will be able to face them effectively.
Minister, dear Sébastien, I would like to thank you for your visit and wish success in your endeavours. I also wish that our bilateral relation, this strategic partnership, especially in the field of Defence, will constantly be enriched and enhanced.
Thank you very much”.
SEBASTIEN LECORNU: “Thank you Minister, thank your dear Nikos, for this reception.
I said it earlier during our talks, that the relations between Athens and Paris are systematic, rich and close. They are friendly and based on the great trust between the Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who I had the honour of meeting yesterday and the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron.
That is the nature of our relationships, since you are the first Minister of Defence who expressed his friendship and appreciation to me upon my appointment, just nine months ago. We have increased our meetings during these nine months. It is the fourth or fifth official meeting, if we don’t also count the numerous direct talks we conduct at a weekly basis, on the phone, through whatsapp and of course our private meetings in the various ministerial meetings of NATO and the EU.
You truly are the counterpart with whom I maintain the closest relations, one of the counterparts with whom I have the most contacts and there is a strong brotherly relationship between Greece and France. We share the Mediterranean, we share History, we share Culture but we also have security issues in common, with affairs that do not stop occupying our attention.
So today’s bilateral meeting, allowed us to conduct an overview regarding the various issues of our cooperation, a cooperation pertaining of course to issues of operations, exercises or joint trainings for which Prime Minister Mitsotakis and President Emmanuel Macron provided instructions to us, as well as to the Chiefs of our Staffs to increase the strength, the number and the quality of exercises conducted in this part of the Mediterranean in the following weeks and months.
We do not start from scratch. There already is a significant background regarding this issue, but it is clear that we must move forward. You mentioned the “Charles de Gaulle” aircraft carrier and of course the frigates and the naval forces, the “Rafale” aircraft, our submarines, including the nuclear propulsion submarines, the nuclear attack submarines.
Of course, this morning we clarified the methodology that will allow the leaders of our Governments and States to enhance our joint training and joint operations in the future.
The second issue we mentioned is that of armaments and the capabilities in our cooperation. I welcomed you in Lorient to observe the progress of our frigates programme, for which we obviously exercise pressure on our industrial partner, “Naval Group”, to abide by the deadlines since you obviously need these ships. We are obviously going to discuss once more the “Rafale” issue in a few minutes, during our visit to the Air Base, but allow me to communicate to you the pride of the French people for that cooperation which is not solely commercial. Our wish is that this cooperation is based on security stakes, on a very close entrepreneurial relationship and I say this before our Ambassador, whom I praise because along with his working group, the Defence Attaché and the Armaments Attaché, for the significant work they conducted these past few months for the pertinent issue. We wish this industrial relation to become more of a win – win affair, in a European and cooperative dimension, for which we asked from our industries, to demonstrate their ingenuousness to us for some time to come. These are required capabilities so as to make this a win – win cooperation for all engaged parties. I believe that this is the spirit we want to achieve among Europeans.
The third item on the agenda was of course the wider security situation in Europe and the Mediterranean, Ukraine obviously, and the issue of our military contribution to it. There are weird conflicts in our democracies from time to time. There is a number of individuals who claim that this is not our war and that we must stop supporting Ukraine, because the assistance we provide prolongs the war. I believe that we should consider this naivety as intensely paradoxical, this defeatist spirit, since we see that this is clearly a matter of collective security. We cannot desire the respect of International Law, of the borders, when it suits us and overlook the fact that International Law and the borders of Ukraine must be respected. They must be preserved and I truly salute the Resolution of the UN General Assembly that demonstrates how dedicated the international community is in this regard.
Consequently, the military assistance constitutes a collective responsibility, as Ministers of Defence, to keep enhancing this military assistance to our Ukrainian friends. Thus, we were able to discuss our views on essential issues and so I would like us to move forward to the issue of our industry and our collective capabilities, producing what the President of the French Republic calls “war economy”. Meaning that we must ask from our industries to create stocks, intensify production, secure the overall supply chain. This applies particularly to gunpowder, a matter on which I made certain announcements in Paris this week and for which I presented this notion to our partners, since we now have this relation of intimacy and proximity, as we do with Athens and the Greek leadership, with which we also wished to share this matter.
The agenda will continue throughout 2023. We scheduled a meeting date with the Minister of National Defence so as to proceed to a newer overview of developments in the region, we exchanged views on our Egyptian friends and partners, the security situation in Libya and Africa.
Since I am here, in Athens, a large European capital and great birthplace of our civilisation, I want to say that the war in Ukraine must not overshadow our other security problems, mainly pertaining to the South, Senegal, the Ivory Coast and the countries of Sahel, where terrorism persists. Paris and Athens, Athens and Paris must keep enhancing their relations towards the support of a security agenda. In any case, as a friend of Greece would like to personally express my appreciation for what you achieve here and state what an essential role Greece plays as security provider for all the European states and in general, for all the states of the Mediterranean arc.
Minister thank you for the welcome”.
After the conclusion of the statements, the Minister of National Defence and his French counterpart, accompanied by the two sides’ delegations, went to the 114 Combat Wing. At the facilities of the 332 All Weather Squadron Mr Panagiotopoulos and Lecornu were briefed on the background, the mission, the training and the activities of the unit that constitutes the station of the “Rafale” aircraft. Afterwards, they were briefed, aboard a two-seater fighter aircraft, on its operational capabilities and talked with the pilots and the technicians serving in the 114 Combat Wing.
