Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos stressed that Greece condemns "Turkey's illegal, provocative and unilateral actions in Greece's and Cyprus' maritime zones that comprise blatant violations of international law and of good neighbourhood relations."
His comments were made during a joint press conference following a trilateral meeting with his counterparts from Cyprus, Charalambos Petrides, and Israel, Benny Gantz.
Στην 3η Τριμερή Συνάντηση των Υπουργών Άμυνας Ελλάδας, Κύπρου και Ισραήλ, σήμερα, στη Λευκωσία.
Με τους ομολόγους μου Υπουργούς @PetridesCh από την Κύπρο και @gantzbe από το Ισραήλ, συζητήσαμε τις τελευταίες εξελίξεις, καθώς και την πρόοδο της συνεργασίας μας στον αμυντικό τομέα pic.twitter.com/Zj9Hyf6O2Y
— N Panagiotopoulos (@npanagioto) November 12, 2020
Among issues they discussed was collaboration in exercises, training, exchange of information, naval safety and cybersecurity.
Turkey's actions, he noted, "undermine regional stability and peace in the Eastern Mediterranean."
"Our joint goal is to implement a long-term, cohesive and substantial strategic collaboration, based on international law and the principles of good neighbourliness with all regions of the area," Panagiotopoulos continued.
I was honored to travel as Israel's defense minister to Cyprus today, the very country where my parents were married, as Displaced Persons in an internment camp, while on their quest to reach Eretz Israel after the Holocaust.
— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) November 12, 2020
טסתי הבוקר לקפריסין לסדרת פגישות ביטחוניות ומדיניות עם נשיא קפריסין ושרי ההגנה של קפריסין ויוון.
הברית בין ישראל-קפריסין-יוון חזקה מתמיד.
אנחנו נקדם שיתוף פעולה ביטחוני רחב שיחזק את יכולות ההגנה שלנו וייצור אלפי משרות לכל אחת מהמדינות. pic.twitter.com/GPiTgi7wq5— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) November 12, 2020
On his part, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said it was agreed to "promote large-scale industry cooperation that will bolster our defence abilities and create thousands of jobs for all three economies."
The next trilateral meeting will take place in Israel in 2021.
https://twitter.com/DefenceCyprus/status/1326828374736637953