Greece is “neither involved in military operations nor has it been asked to become involved,” noted National Defence Minister Nikos Dendias in an interview to Parapolitika newspaper on Saturday.
Permitting the use of Greek military airfields, ” – beyond the terms of Greece’s defense agreement with the US – was allowed for transport aircraft as well as for support helicopters and personnel,” he added. These will be used for humanitarian purposes, “i.e. for evacuations and transportation of US citizens or Greeks if required.”
Concerning the use of Greek navy ships, Dendias added that these “had already participated – before Hamas’ attack- in three operations in the Mediterranean: one by the EU, by NATO and the UN respectively.”
In the case of the UN, he noted, “it concerns the peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, but for security reasons, the Greek frigate will be moved tens of miles from the coast of the country.”
Greece’s participation in these operations, “combined with the defense agreements it has signed, practically proves its geopolitical role in the region.” It is “with this perspective in mind that our participation should be interpreted, and not as a factor of concern.”
On Greek-Turkish relations, Dendias noted that “if Ankara wishes to see a real turning of a page in our relations it knows what it must do, in both action and words, guided by International Law and the International Law of the Sea.”
Greece is “ready to respond in this case. In any case, however, complacency is not allowed, especially in today’s fragile geopolitical balances in our broader region,” he added.
