The Greek defence minister met with his counterpart in Cyprus to discuss bilateral cooperation and upgrading the Republic’s defence infrastructures on Wednesday.

The meeting came in the wake of a European Council resolution taken on Monday to boost defence spending across the bloc, over which President Nikos Christodoulides had expressed “absolute” satisfaction.

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias’ meeting with his counterpart Vassilis Palmas, preceded a meeting at the presidential palace with Christodoulides.

“Cyprus and Greece are pillars of security, stability and peace in the Mediterranean, demonstrating an indisputable respect for […] the UN charter, international law and the Law of the Sea,” Palmas said after the meetings.

The island’s security and actions to deepen relations with friendly countries and other actors, had also been discussed, Palmas said, as had the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the latest developments in the Middle East.

The situation in Israel, Lebanon and Syria had been broached, the minister said.

“The experiences [of] recent years demonstrate the need for broader cooperation…They also demonstrate a need for further investment in [weapons’] innovation and technology,” Palmas said.

Actions are to be taken to strengthen the Republic’s domestic defence industry and new partnerships in this direction are to be sought.

In this context Palmas was also informed by Dendias about the progress of an EU naval operation, codenamed “Aspides” [Shields], to enhance navigation safety, protect trade routes and de-escalate tensions in the Red Sea.

The Republic is actively participating in this mission with two officers dispatched to operational headquarters in Larissa, Palmas reported.

Dendias for his part said that a “substantial” discussion had taken place and congratulated Christodoulides for what had been achieved under his administration.

He said he had informed Palmas about “Agenda 2030”, a measure to reform the Greek armed forces, and about cooperation envisioned with the Evelpidon Military Academy and the Greek Centre for Defence Innovation.
“I invited the Cypriot side to get a clear picture of what we are doing in Athens,” Dendias said.
He also highlighted Cyprus’ new defence deal with the USA which permits the Republic to acquire weapons directly from that state, calling it a development “of real value [and] enormous symbolic significance”.

Dendias commended Christodoulides’ efforts to place the Cyprus issue “back on track” and said Greece’s participation as a non-permanent member of the UN security council for the next two years provided an opportunity.

The Greek minister went on to back statements made by Christodoulides on the importance of the European Commission taking steps to boost its defence spending to enhance the EU’s geostrategic role “in an unstable international environment”.

The EU’s defence policy had been scattered in the past and defence autonomy for the bloc had been unachievable with the strict financial limitations imposed, Dendias said.

“The EU’s approach [to defence] in the past was schizophrenic, [with] very tight budgetary constraints on defence spending. Defence autonomy, which we all want, cannot be achieved with this narrow framework, so I hope that the EU has returned to the rule of reason,” he said.

Fiscal responsibility was necessary but “a country that [faces] an existential threat cannot be counted the same as [one] in a completely friendly space,” Dendias said.

Greece was obligated to spend large amounts of money on defence over the years and had the EU upheld exemption clauses, Greece’s public debt would be less than 40 per cent of its GDP, that is, the smallest of any EU state, Dendias also said.

The decision taken by the bloc to increase its defence spending need not trouble the USA, as it was “not incompatible with […] obligations of the North Atlantic Treaty”, he added.

“Serious decisions” had been taken [at the informal summit] for the EU to increase its defence autonomy, Christodoulides said, upon receiving Greece’s defence minister.

Cyprus had demonstrated a will to “contribute substantially to the achievement of common European goals in the eastern Mediterranean”, the president had said in previous statements, and upgrades to the Andreas Papandreou airbase in Paphos and the Evangelos Florakis naval base in Mari were to be carried out “within this framework”.

“We are seeking your support in this effort,” he told Dendias on Wednesday, “in order to achieve [the] clear goal of strengthening the Republic’s deterrent capabilities.”