The Minister of National Defence Mr Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos participated in the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence, which took place in Brussels on 12 and 13 October 2022.
During the working dinner of 12 October, with the participation of the Minister of Defence of Ukraine Mr Oleksii Reznikov, the Minister stressed that Greece condemns the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia by Russia.
Mr Panagiotopoulos underlined that Greece has provided military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and recently the first from a total of forty (40) Armour Fighting Vehicles BMP-1 were delivered for dispatch.
During the talks about NATO’s nuclear planning, the Minister expressed the significance of the Alliance’s deterrent policy, taking into consideration the belligerent rhetoric of Russia and the deployment of nuclear weapons threat.
Furthermore, he stressed that the strengthening of the defence industries of the NATO Member-States is necessary, with the goal of enhancing the defence capabilities in the emerging security environment.
Mr Panagiotopoulos gave particular emphasis to the preservation and strengthening of the Alliance’s unity and cohesion, grounded on its principles and values. He underlined the significance of a decisive response to the aggressiveness and revisionism of Russia and the complete respect of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, which constitutes fundamental stakes of the war.
Finally, the Minister made mention of the strategic importance of the Western Balkans, which was reflected in the new Strategic Doctrine of NATO and pointed out that our Country supports the Euro-Atlantic path of Bosnia-Herzegovina, on the grounds of materialisation and the required reforms and the consolidation of security and stability in the country.
In the context of the Meeting’s proceedings, the Minister conducted bilateral meetings. Some of them were with the Ministers of Defence of the USA Mr Lloyd Austin, France Mr Sebastien Lécornu, Germany Ms Christine Lambrecht, the United Kingdom Mr Ben Wallace and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Joseph Borrell, during which, issues of mutual interest were discussed.
