Minister Naď declares Slovakia's interest in building strong and prosperous ties with Greece

Today (2 June 2022), Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď welcomed Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos to the Ministry of Defence in Bratislava. The two leaders consulted closely on defence and security affairs, especially on options to assist Ukraine in the wake of Russia's aggression, ways to take SVK-GRC bilateral defence cooperation forward, and the situation in the regions seen as key to European security.

At their bilateral meeting, Defence Ministers Panagiotopoulos and Naď assessed NATO's processes in progress. “With our Greek partners, we share the same view and are convinced that Finlandʼs and Swedenʼs entry into NATO will represent a substantial strategic strengthening of the Alliance's collective defence in respect of geographical considerations, capabilities and interoperability,” said Mr Naď.

At the same time, the head of the MOD expressed his full solidarity for Greece and support for the European community's united position on resolving the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially against the backdrop of the current security situation in Eastern Europe.

A deepening of practical defence cooperation was high on the agenda of the meeting. In addition to identifying common areas of interest, both leaders reviewed steps to reinforce defence ties. “Even at the military expert level, we want to build on the above-average Greek-Slovak political relationship arising, in particular, from our membership in NATO and the EU,” said Minister Naď. To that end, he noted the SVK MOD intends to set up the Office of Slovak Non-Resident Defence Attaché to Greece in the foreseeable future.