Gerapetritis extols Greek ‘show of power’ in Cyprus with frigates, fighter jets

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis on Wednesday acclaimed what he described as a “show of power in Cyprus”, when his country deployed frigates and F-16 fighter jets to the island and its vicinity earlier in the year. Initially, two Greek frigates and four F-16s had been stationed in Cyprus after the island was hit by an Iranian-made drone at the beginning of March. Since then, frigates have been rotated into Cypriot waters to ensure a constant Greek naval presence off the island, with the Nikiforos Fokas the latest to be stationed in Cyprus. Likewise, the F-16 fighter jets have also remained in Paphos. Regarding Greece’s regional military footing, Gerapetritis told television channel Skai that “we have relations, which are better than ever, with the Gulf countries, we have relations with India, and above all, we have the international alliance in the European Union”, but stressed that “there is no way we can rely on international alliances alone”. “What we must take care of is to strengthen our own, to become internationally stronger, to acquire defensive resilience, and I want to tell you that, in the last three years, our defence has been equipped in such a way that it has acquired a power which is not only real, it also has to do with the performance of power,” he said. He added that this is because “a country must have a strong defence in order to be able to cope with dangers”, and stressed on this front that “the truth is that there are many global dangers which are looming”. “The show of power is also very important. How do you show your power? So, let’s remember the last six month what Greece’s show of power in the Gulf countries was, where we provided defence security,” he said. “In Cyprus, above all, the show of power with the frigate and the upgraded F-16s was just a conversation, which should be our daily conversation, of how Greece is currently essentially an exporter of security.” International alliances ‘not based on other countries’ desires’ He then said that “of course, we also have the defence cooperation with Israel, which, as you know, has developed a lot”, before stressing that “Israel has a very high defence know-how”. Asked about a potential Turkish reaction to Greece’s deepening relations with Israel, he said that “the only thing which is certain is that we will not define our international alliances based on the desires of other countries”. “Power is produced by strong alliances, it is produced by a strong economy and a strong defence and, above all, it is produced by a government which has the credibility and the power to do that to which it commits. So, the answer is clear. Of course, Greece will also develop its cooperation with Israel,” he said. He added that Greece’s relations with Israel have “brought significant added value, especially at the levels of defence and technology”, before stressing that “at the same time, Greece has the privilege of talking in truly strategic terms with the entire Arab world”. Those deepening relations caused something of a stir earlier in the week, with questions being raised over whether the Israeli government would allow the Greek government access to the source code for the “Achilles shield”, the new multi-layered air defence system which will be provided to Greece by Israel. Israel’s missile defence organisation director Moshe Patel had told Greek newspaper Kathimerini that Greece would not have access to the system’s source code, stressing that “the source code was not part of the licensing agreement”, meaning that the final decision regarding the system’s use could effectively rest in Tel Aviv, rather than Athens. However, the Athens Macedonian News Agency has since quoted an Israeli defence ministry spokesperson as having said that a “dedicated Greek source code” will be installed into the system. “The claims raised in recent days concerning the source code that underpins Israel’s own operational systems are not relevant to the Achilles shield agreement, under which a dedicated Greek source code will be built with Israeli support,” the spokesperson said.