To confirm SYRIZA-PS’s concerns About the impact of support for Ukraine on the country’s defense capabilities, SYRIZA’s head of National Defense, Evangelos Apostolakis, speaks, culminating in the interview that the Prime Minister gave yesterday in the context of the NATO Public Forum.
“Prime Minister Mr Mitsotakis spoke about ‘gaps’ in the country’s defence capabilities as a result of its support for Ukraine in an interview he gave in the context of the NATO Summit. The Prime Minister’s statement is extremely worrying, but unfortunately it confirms the concerns and warnings that we, SYRIZA-PS, having the responsibility of the official opposition in the country, have emphasised at every opportunity we had,” Mr Apostolakis said.
He also recalls that in his questions and speeches in Parliament he expressed his disagreement “with the sending of weapons systems, but also with the fact that any assistance given to Ukraine should not be at the expense of our country’s defence capabilities”. “In response, we were assured that this would not happen. Now the country’s prime minister is talking about “gaps” in the defence system. In addition, he refers to the need to support the national defence industry, without any initiatives in this direction so far. In fact, although the costs of armaments amount to several billion, not a single euro is directed to the national defence industry, despite our constant proposals in favour of the need to support domestic production”, points out the head of the SYRIZA Defence Department.
As he emphasizes, “national defense is a serious matter and must be treated as such, with the necessary consensus and inter-party understanding for the benefit of the country”.
It should be noted that – referring to the aid that Europe provides to Ukraine, Mr Mitsotakis said in his interview 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.”