Greek defense minister repeats NATO command center proposal

At the NATO Summit in Brussels on Thursday, Defense Minister Panos Kammenos reiterated his proposal for the alliance to create a command and control center on Crete and an air base on the island of Karpathos.

Kammenos, who has made the proposal before, suggested that these moves are needed for NATO to improve its capability on its southeastern flank.

“There was a good response to the idea of strengthening NATO’s southern flank from the member-states and there was a decision to intensify work in this direction in the coming days,” said Kammenos.

The defense minister has caused disquiet in the coalition with similar comments in the past.

The government has not clarified whether Kammenos’s proposals form part of its official policy.