The Minister of National Defence, Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, participated on Thursday, 3 March 2022, in a meeting held at the Embassy of France, convened by the French Ambassador, Mr. Patrick Maisonnave, within the context of the EU French Presidency, in connection with the war in Ukraine, attended by the EU Member-States Ambassadors.

The Minister of National Defence stressed that the war in Ukraine creates severe security challenges, which the EU must collectively face, with a high sense of responsibility.

He characterized the Russian invasion to Ukraine as unprecedented, stating that it constitutes a blatant violation of International Law and the UN Charter, and opined that it is a milestone for the EU whose members are called to face it by significantly reinforcing their defence and security. In this framework, he welcomed the recent decision taken by the EU Member-States to increase their defence budget.

Mr. Panagiotopoulos highlighted that this unjustified and illegal aggression constitutes an extremely severe blow against the European security architecture, and stressed that, whereby the adoption of the “Strategic Compass”, the threats and challenges against all its Member-States must be collectively faced to deter similar revisionist and illegal actions and pursue the substantial promotion of the EU strategic autonomy, which complements NATO.

The Minister expressed his satisfaction for the fact that the EU readily decided to support Ukraine by providing defence material, and imposed severe sanctions to Russia, the effectiveness of which will be dependent upon their implementation by all states, without exceptions.

The meeting was attended via teleconference by the Ambassador of Ukraine, Mr. Sergii Sutenko, who provided an update on the situation in his country. The Minister of National Defence, Mr. Panagiotopoulos, expressed Greece’s solidarity and support to the Ambassador of Ukraine, and so did all EU Member-States Ambassadors.