Military chief warns of accident risk in talks with NATO official

The chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA), Konstantinos Floros, has warned of the risk of an accident in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean due to Turkey’s repeated transgressions, during successive teleconferences with NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) Lieutenant General Tim Radford.

According to a statement issued on Friday by GEETHA, Floros referred in his talks with Radford to the recent escalation of the migration crisis at the Evros land border and its exploitation by Ankara, as well as Turkey’s behavior in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

He also cited the repeated violations by Turkish fighter jets of the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) and overflights over the Evros land border and Greek islands.

Floros also raised the issue of Turkey’s illegal exploratory activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, its violation of the United Nations-imposed arms embargo on Libya and other actions, such as the “unacceptable” harassment by Turkish fighter jets of a helicopter last week in which he and Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos were traveling.

They also discussed the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of the Missile Defense Center of Excellence in Hania, Crete. 

Meanwhile, on Friday, and after a long time due to the lockdown, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias had a face-to-face meeting in his office with US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt.

The two men discussed bilateral relations, regional developments and matters related to the development and response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Grateful for long-overdue coordination with Nikos Dendias on our full range of shared interests around region – Libya, Syria, Balkans – next steps on Strategic Dialogue and collective response to Covid-19,” Pyatt said in a tweet, adding that there is “no substitute for face-to-face diplomacy with our close allies.”