It is particularly recalled that the head of the National Defense Department of SYRIZA PS, Evangelos Apostolakis, accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that in an interview on the sidelines of the NATO Summit he admitted the existence of gaps in our country’s defense capabilities, as a result of military support in Ukraine.

Mr. Marinakis spoke of “cheap opposition tactics” and commented that Mr. Apostolakos “either did not understand or pretended not to understand what the prime minister said”. He clarified that Mr. Mitsotakis was referring to the overall defense strategy that Europe must follow and added: “There is no hidden agenda. Not even some hidden support. The answer to the announcement of SYRIZA is to read more carefully the statements of their opponents”.

The government representative reminded that the prime minister together with his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, submitted a comprehensive proposal for the EU’s defense policy before the European elections. He pointed out that Mr. Mitsotakis wants to open a debate on a fair distribution of defense responsibilities in the EU , not with more spending, but with a smarter way of allocating European defense funds.

It should be noted that the Prime Minister yesterday in an interview with Nadia Schadlow, a member of the Hudson Institute and former US Deputy National Security Advisor, as part of the NATO Public Forum, received a question regarding military support in Ukraine.

In particular, Mrs. Schadlow raised the following question: “Greece has done an incredible amount for Ukraine. You are one of the leading states in supplying Ukrainians with missiles and ammunition. What more do you think NATO needs to do in a hurry and how can we get there? A key issue over the past year has been the speed and ability of NATO to move weapons into Ukraine quickly enough. This was a problem we had in the United States as well. How do you think things might change in the coming months or what might have a meaningful impact on us acting faster?”

And Mr. Mitsotakis answered: “Europe has responded to its task and has proven to be effective. In 2022 I think many, including many in Moscow, would bet on Europe’s inability to remain united in supporting Ukraine. They were wrong. Europe remains united. We provide Ukraine with European financial aid, 50 billion euros. This is an important package that we agreed a few months ago. However, the member states also contribute to Ukraine’s defense capabilities, to the extent of our capabilities. We will continue to do so. And initiatives like the Czech initiative, for example, have proven to be very effective in helping Ukraine as quickly as possible.

At the same time, however, we must consider the gaps this has created in our own defense capabilities. As much as we talk regarding sophisticated systems, we also need to make sure we have the basics in place. Ukraine showed how important, for example, 155mm projectiles are and that in a modern war not everything is as technologically driven as many thought. Also making sure that we streamline production, increase our reserves, while at the same time having the ability to support Ukraine is a challenge that we have to meet.”

Mitsotakis visit to Cyprus on the black anniversary of “Attila”

Asked if the visit of Mr. Mitsotakis to Cyprus on July 20, the anniversary of the Turkish invasion, has been locked, Mr. Marinakis confirms that this is the plan, noting that it will be officially announced once the program is finalized.

Regarding yesterday’s meeting of the Prime Minister with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Washington, the government representative simply repeated that: “We continue to believe in dialogue without the slightest inclination to retreat on our sovereign rights” , while pointing out that Mr. Mitsotakis referred to the Cyprus issue.

He also recalled that the prime minister raised the issue of North Macedonia’s non-compliance with the Prespa Agreement to NATO. He emphasized that full implementation of the Prespa agreement is essential for NATO and that non-compliance endangers security in the wider region. He spoke of gaps in security and provisions. He clarified that: “We will not sanction the cooperation protocols, if North Macedonia does not comply with this international agreement”. While he did not comment on the fact that Mr. Mitsotakis did not have a meeting with the new Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Christian Mickoski, in Washington.

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