PM conveys Greece’s steely determination
In a message to Ankara on Thursday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece’s “borders are blue and not gray and whoever violates the borders is ultimately punished.”
“In the 21st century, there is no room for imperial visions of other times,” he said during the naming ceremony and integration of the Roussen-class British-designed fast attack missile boat Lieutenant Vlachakos into the Hellenic Navy, at the Skaramangas Naval Base.
“When we talk about the homeland, national duty always comes first. Therefore, no one should anticipate either how Greece will organize its defense planning or how it will support its human resources,” he said. “What matters today is vigilant readiness, unity of steel, mature determination,” he noted, These principles, he said, are also “the most resounding responses to the big words of others.”
Mitsotakis, who will not go to Alicante on Saturday as the Euro-Mediterranean Summit was canceled due to the illness of the Spanish prime minister, essentially set the framework for the rest of the Hellenic Navy’s armaments, as he officially announced the upgrade of four MEKO frigates.
He stressed that “other decisions to further strengthen our Navy are expected soon” in comments relating to the discussions on the utilization of the remaining 2 billion euros allocated to strengthen the Navy. Essentially discussions concern €1.5 billion as roughly 500 million euros will be needed to upgrade the four MEKOs. The acquisition of corvettes with a number of candidates (France, Italy, US, Netherlands, UK) is currently being discussed with the possibility of activating the option for the procurement of another French FDI frigate being put on the table.
The Fast Boat Command with a total of 17 surface units (seven Roussen-class and 10 older La Combattante-class) is the spearhead of any operational field in the Aegean.
