Press Releases

JOINT STATEMENT

1.  The Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus Savvas Angelides and General Mohamed Zaki, the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Minister of Defence and Military Production, met in Athens, on November 5, 2019, in order to further promote their cooperation, in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean.

2.  The Ministers reviewed the latest developments and the progress achieved in the field of defence and security, and stressed their common determination to further enhance their cooperation in the defense/defense - technical domain in order to address their security challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean and to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the broader region.

3.  The Ministers reaffirmed that the defence cooperation among the three countries is aiming to share knowledge and experiences and to combine capabilities and comparative advantages in productive ways through the participation in training programs and joint exercises. The three countries now conduct frequent joint military exercises including Air Force, Naval and Special Forces drills. The Ministers agreed to maintain and intensify the increasing momentum and to further explore and develop new aspects in their defence cooperation.

4.  The Ministers condemned the illegal Turkish exploration activities in the Cypriot EEZ, calling for their immediate termination and the need to respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus over its maritime zones in accordance with the International Law and UNCLOS. Further, the Ministers condemned the Turkish violations of the Hellenic National Airspace and Territorial Waters, in contravention of International Law.

 5.  Additionally, the Ministers deplored the newest Turkish invasion of Syria that has created a new humanitarian crisis, has further increased migratory flows, as well as significantly undermining the progress achieved so far by the Global Coalition to defeat Daʼesh, stressing that Daʼesh remains a threat to regional European and International Security. They condemned any Turkish attempt to undermine the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Syria, to impose demographic changes or any efforts of social engineering.

6.  The Ministers renewed their commitment to further enhance international efforts to counter terrorism. In this context, they expressed their grave concern over the tolerance by some countries which permit foreign fighters to cross and move through their territories, threatening the security and stability of other countries.

7.  In light of the above, the emergence of new security challenges and threats in our region requires their joint threat assessment and a closer cooperation among the three countries to protect their common interests and reinforce their cooperation in the defence domain.

8.  The Ministers stressed that they have entered a new era of geostrategic cooperation, based on their respective potential for mutually beneficial cooperation.

9.  The Ministers agreed to hold the next Trilateral Defence Ministersʼ Meeting in Cyprus in 2020.

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