Following his meeting in the Pentagon with General James Mattis, Greece’s Defence Minister Panos Kammenos, announced the speeding up of new "defence agreements" that will contribute to the design of a "virtually new energy policy" in the wider region of the southeastern Mediterranean.
"There have been many improvements to the timetables we have put in the past. Many issues were discussed, which are not reportable. In the general context, however, I am telling you that what we had envisaged went much faster than we had planned, and at the same time we are planning new partnerships," Kammenos said.
When asked whether the issue of Turkish threats to exploit natural resources within the Cypriot EEZ had been discussed at the meeting, the Greek minister said that the extension alone of the tripartite co-operation between Greece and Cyprus with the US, is itself the answer to the question.
"I told you that we are going beyond the tripartite agreement of Greece, Cyprus and Israel and have the USA supporting us. I think that (this) is clear the message,” said Kammenos.
Invited to comment on the geopolitical value that Greece has for the US, just before the start of the meeting, the US Secretary of Defence described Greece as a stable and excellent ally.
"The Bay of Souda is one of our most important ports in the Mediterranean and in every other part of NATO. And we have a very close cooperation with the defence minister. Greece is an excellent ally in all areas of how they work to address the refugee crisis, support for US naval operations and our military cooperation plus our diplomatic co-operation in Brussels," said James Mattis.
