“There is no gap in the Greek defenseassured government representative Pavlos Marinakis, denouncing the opposition for “cutting corners” in its statements Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, regarding aid to Ukraine.
“I read with sadness an announcement by the head of SYRIZA’s National Defense Department. We had another cheap opposition tactic from SYRIZA. Either he did not understand or pretended not to understand what the Prime Minister said. If we look at his entire statement, he was referring to Europe, not Greece. He was referring globally to how Europe should move forward,” the government representative clarified during the political editors’ briefing, responding in the statement of Evangelos Apostolakis.
“There is no hidden agenda”
“There is no gap in the Greek defense, he was not referring to the defense of Greece. He was referring to a comprehensive strategy that Europe should follow,” Marinakis continued. As he noted, “the Greek Prime Minister first said, together with his Polish counterpart, that there should be a new European policy that also protects countries like Greece that have increased defense spending. A comprehensive defense policy of Europe.” “There is no hidden agenda, no agreement that has not been announced, for Ukraine by Greece, nor will anything more be sent than what we have said, nor is there any other support that is not known,” he added, recommending the opposition “to read more carefully the statements of their political opponents and not to make idiosyncratic cuts and cuts to create impressions especially on issues related to the country’s defense.”
PASOK: Reasonable questions about the commitments our country has made towards Ukraine
The Prime Minister’s statements
It should be noted that – referring to Europe’s assistance to Ukraine, Mr Mitsotakis stated in an interview he gave at the NATO Public Forum that “member states contribute to Ukraine’s defence capabilities to the extent of their capabilities”. “We will continue to do so (…) At the same time, however, we need to look at the gaps that this has created in our own defence capabilities”, he said, adding: “As much as we talk about sophisticated systems, we also need to make sure that we have the basics. Ukraine has shown how important, for example, 155mm shells are and that in a modern war not everything is as technological as many thought. “Also ensuring that we rationalise production, increase our reserves and at the same time have the capacity to support Ukraine is a challenge that we have to face.”
“The new SYRIZA abolishes the old SYRIZA”
Marinakis also responded to SYRIZA’s announcement referring to diplomatic lethargy regarding the North Macedonia issue, commenting: “We are talking about the party that a few weeks ago requested the ratification of the Memoranda resulting from the Prespa Agreement. Among them is the one referring to the European integration of North Macedonia. And the same party, SYRIZA, today issued a statement calling on the government to block the European integration of North Macedonia. We are talking about insanity.”
“The new SYRIZA abolishes the old SYRIZA. Today’s SYRIZA is abolishing itself. The same people who said run faster, vote for everything, are now telling the government to run faster in the opposite direction,” he added.
He also stressed that “the government and the prime minister follow a responsible foreign policy and without any beating around the bush, we say that North Macedonia’s European path goes through Greece and obviously if the way they deal with internationally agreed things does not change drastically, this will not progress.”
“There is no way to back down on clear demands that protect the country’s interests. Greece will not back down even an inch, it will not pursue a policy that harms our national interests. We expect North Macedonia to comply,” Marinakis added.
He also announced that the Prime Minister will visit Cyprus next week.
Goals against St. Kasselakis for Attica Bank – “It was time for Varoufakis to step up”
Asked about the impending deal with Attika Bank, he lashed out at SYRIZA and Stefanos Kasselakis, characteristically telling him that “the time has finally come for the Varoufakis that is hiding inside him to come out,” given that Koumoundourou has made announcements about a deal “that has not even been announced.” He also wondered what the counterproposal would be, “maybe two banks should collapse?”
He added that Attica Bank was once “Syriza Bank”, with several hundred million euros in debt to SYRIZA, and that “the last time it negotiated with banks was when it closed them in 2015”.