SYRIZA: No Greek family wants their child involved in French operations in Africa

No Greek family will be happy at the prospect of its children becoming involved in French military operations in Africa, especially not against jihadists, main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance spokesperson Nasos Iliopoulos on Sunday.

He said that the Greek-French pact completely overturns the country's defence doctrine up until now."

Under this defence doctrine, Greece had so far abstained from conflicts within the Arab world, and this had served as a factor for security, Iliopoulos said.

"The current agreement, with article 18i, comes to completely change this and to turn in the opposite direction. For this reason, we consider that the specific article needs to be amended," the spokesperson continued.

He also noted the need to amend article 2 of the agreement, saying that its current form does not ensure that there will be French assistance if there is a dangerous incident or any further escalation in "an Exclusive Economic Zone or continental shelf area".

"If these parts of the agreement remain as they are, it is clear that [SYRIZA] cannot support them," he added.

Iliopoulos also accused the government of "vagaries" in terms of military arms procurements and mistaken planning, which were leading to excessive spending approaching 10 billion euros.

He further criticised government choices as dangerous for Greek society, especially moves to further privatise and cede control of the power grid and the country's largest port in a time of energy crisis and global geopolitical flux.

READ MORE: The France-Greece military and defence deal in detail.