“The big winner from the NATO Summit was NATO itself, which is expanding and acquiring members that we did not imagine could join until a few months ago”, said Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, in an interview today with ‘Real FM’ radio station and journalist Nikos Chatzinikolaou. He continued by saying that NATO is now emerging as the only shield against the Russian threat and is obtaining plenty more tools for Europe's defence planning.
The second winner, Mr. Varvitsiotis emphasized, is the spirit of cooperation and peace in the Aegean, as a result of President Joe Biden's meeting with President Erdoğan. As he explained, the channel of communication between Washington and Ankara offers a way to appease Turkish aggression, at a time when Greek-American relations are at their highest possible level.
Commenting on Türkiye's conduct in the negotiations with NATO, the Alternate Minister pointed out that Ankara did not gain significantly from the memorandum it signed with Sweden and Finland, but instead the Scandinavian countries realized the ambiguity of the Turkish stance, a fact which has set a more fertile ground for the development of our own positions and relations.
Mr. Varvitsiotis noted that the current composition of the US Congress makes it difficult to pass the Turkish F-16 fighter aircraft upgrade program. At the same time, he said, Greece has submitted a request to participate in the F-35 fighter aircraft program and underlined the soundness of the Greek government's decision to strengthen our defence cooperation with the US.
June 30, 2022