Thank you very much.
We are here today in Crete, in Chania, along with Deputy Minister of Defense Nikos Hardalias, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS), General K. Floros, Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff (HAFGS), and the US Ambassador, Mr. Tsunis, to send a clear message.
I reiterate that this is an exercise that demonstrates our resolve to safeguard the values of democracy, stability, security and territorial integrity.
The message is that the United States and the Hellenic Republic stand shoulder-to shoulder against revisionism, against anything that threatens the national sovereignty, the territorial integrity of states. They stand shoulder-to shoulder in the name of protecting International Law, relying on the excellent equipment that you see around us, but especially on the exceptional personnel of the Hellenic and the U.S. Air Forces that have cooperated in several important exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean in recent days.
