In a statement after a meeting they had on Monday, the Minister of Defence, Charalambos Petridis, and his Greek counterpart, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, sent the message that Cyprus and Greece are cooperating to effectively deal with the Turkish provocation and the repeated violations of the sovereignty of their EEZs.

They also said they were determined to defend the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the two states and national interests.

Mr. Panagiotopoulos stressed that Greece maintains an unwavering stance and has built its national defence and security strategy in invoking international legitimacy.

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The Minister of National Defence is in Nicosia for the events of remembrance and honor to the fallen and the victims of the Turkish invasion. There he met for the first time Mr. Petridis, who took office after the Government reshuffle.

In the statements that followed the meeting, Mr. Petridis said that Mr. Panagiotopoulos, reaffirming the fraternal ties between Cyprus and Greece, attended on behalf of the Greek government the memorial service for those killed during the Turkish invasion.

In turn, the Minister of Defence, after noting that we have a duty to keep alive the memory of the Greek and Greek Cypriot heroes who fell defending the freedom of Cyprus, added that during their first meeting they coordinated the actions of the two Ministries. In this way, they are sending the message that Cyprus and Greece are cooperating to deal effectively with the Turkish provocation “and especially the repeated violations of their sovereign rights and their Exclusive Economic Zones.”

According to the Minister of Defence, the two Ministries and consequently the two governments, strengthen the creative role they undertook through the tripartite strategic partnerships.

“Together with Cyprus and Greece, we are cultivating a common framework of reference, which promotes security and stability between the states of our region, a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, which emphasizes international law and the peaceful settlement of any dispute and allows coordination towards the important energy perspectives of the Eastern Mediterranean,” continued Mr. Petridis.

The Minister of Defence added that in the environment he described, with the countries of the region cooperating to promote relations of peace and good neighborliness, a sad disagreement is Turkey with the escalating and aggressive actions in our EEZ region, violations at sea and our territorial waters.”

Mr. Petridis then called on Turkey to respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus and to end the destabilization efforts in the region as well as to choose the path of dialogue and peaceful coexistence based on European and international law.

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Mr. Petridis referred to the latest offensive example for Christianity and the world community: the conversion of a cultural monument, Hagia Sophia into a mosque, noting that these actions increase the tension, do not favor the resumption of talks and the process of resolving the Cyprus issue, which the Greek Cypriot side is constantly pursuing.

Concluding, the Minister of Defence expressed to Mr. Papagiotopoulos the gratitude of the Government and the Cypriot people for the full support of the Greek government and the Greek people to Cyprus and confidently stated that such excellent cooperation will continue at all levels.

In turn, the Minister of National Defence stated that he is in Cyprus to pay tribute, with deep respect and national emotion, to the heroes who fought for their faith and homeland.

“Today Greece bows to the memory of all the children of Hellenism, Cypriots and Greeks, who with bravery, heroism, self-denial and self-sacrifice fought for the highest ideal of Freedom and died for it.”

We honor the heroes, the deceased, the wounded and the fighters who resisted the brutality and atrocities of Attila to keep Cyprus free, he continued, adding that their sacrifice reminds them of the duty of constant vigilance and systematic, but also of hard work for the right of their struggle.

Referring to his meeting with Mr. Petridis, the Minister of National Defence said that they confirmed the alignment with the common goals for national law and the strategy, which is fruitful both at EU level and at the level of alliances that are formed or sought in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond, through tripartite and multilateral schemes.

He went on to say that Turkey continues its daily delinquent and provocative behavior, perhaps more intensely than ever, noting that “we are watching closely and with great concern the illegal actions of Turkey contrary to international law in the EEZ and coastal zone delimited by the Republic of Cyprus.” We condemn Ankara ‘s destabilizing actions, which are a clear violation of the sovereign rights of an EU Member State of the Republic of Cyprus and a major challenge to the EU’s credibility, deterrence and ability to safeguard common energy and political interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Furthermore, he said that it is a fact that Turkey’s attitude towards Greece and Cyprus has become more aggressive and it is reflected in its illegal activities in the Cyprus EEZ, in the signing with the Libyan government of national reconciliation memoranda of understanding, military cooperation and delimitation of maritime zones in Eastern Mediterranean.

Referring to the Turkish government’s decision to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque, he said that Ankara’s action offends the universal character of Hagia Sophia as a monument – a property of world culture.

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He added that it also offends Christianity and Western values, from which Turkey now blatantly seems to be moving away, and it is another proof to those who continue to turn a blind eye on the provocative and revisionist behavior of the country, which deserves the title of the great agitator in the region.

He further stressed that Turkish delinquency requires the utmost vigilance and co-operation to ensure our territorial integrity and sovereign rights.

He expressed the position that the maintenance of peace in this geographical area is a primary and strategic goal for the security and prosperity of Hellenism.

He added that Greece and Cyprus are taking initiatives to promote peace and stability in the region and reduce Turkey’s destabilizing role.

The Minister of National Defence noted that in the field of defence diplomacy, a policy of principles and positions is pursued based on the development of regional cooperation focusing on Greece and Cyprus and the building of relations of mutual trust.

“Greece maintains an unwavering stance and has built its national defence and security strategy on invoking international legitimacy,” he said, adding that “we are determined to defend the sovereignty, sovereign rights and national interests of Cyprus and Greece.”

“Cyprus and Greece, with strong national solidarity, will continue to face the ongoing challenges in defence and security together,” he said, assuring that “we will further deepen the bilateral defence cooperation between Cyprus and Greece.

Concluding, he expressed pride for the presence of ELDYK in Megalonisos, which demonstrates in the most emblematic way that Greece was, is and will be on the side of Cyprus. He also noted that Greece supports the struggle of Cyprus to end the occupation and its consequences and to find a fair, sustainable operational solution to the Cyprus problem, without deviations from international and European principles and values, with full sovereignty, complete independence and territorial integrity.

Source: CNA