On Thursday, 15 February 2024, the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, took part in the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence, in Brussels.

The subjects of the Meeting were the preparations for the NATO Summit in Washington, the support of Ukraine, and matters of Deterrence and Defence.

On the sidelines of the Meeting, Mr. Dendias signed the Letter of Intent for the accession of Greece to the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), following the unanimous decision of the 19 members of the Initiative. ESSI concerns the creation of political, financial, and technological cooperation in the area of unified, anti-aircraft, and anti-missile defence.

In the framework of the Action Plan for the enhancement of the defence production of the Alliance, the Minister of National Defence also signed, along with his 16 counterparts, the Letter of Intent concerning the participation in the multinational initiative for the procurement of munitions and missiles.

Mr. Dendias also had a brief meeting with the Finnish Minister of Defence, Antti Hakkanen, in view of his visit to Finland on 27 February.

The Greek Minister also had a brief meeting with the Minister of National Defence of Turkey, Yasar Guler, during which he mentioned the need to maintain a climate of detente and avoid all actions that might disturb it.

Finally, the Greek Minster of National Defence met with his French counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu, with whom he discussed the further enhancement of the strategic partnership between Greece and France.