Τhe ministers of defense of Greece, Cyrpus and Egypt met in Athens to discuss the latest development sin the East Mediterranean region, cooperation on defense and security as well as regional security challenges.
General Mohamed Zaki, the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Minister of Defense and Military Production, Minister of National Defense of the Hellenic Republic, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Cyprus Savvas Angelides.
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.
After the meeting in Athens, the three ministers flew to the island of Crete to watch the 3-latteral military excessive “Medusa 9” in Maleme.
#alphanews Ο Alpha στην άσκηση "Μέδουσα " στην Κρήτη. Εντυπωσιακές εικόνες από την "απόβαση" των ειδικών δυνάμεων στο Μάλεμε. @SarikasKostas pic.twitter.com/bOrnPiFM5u
— ALPHA TV (@ALPHA_TV) November 6, 2019
The exercise began on November 1st in the framework of the countries’ tripartite agreements on strategic cooperation and is expected to last until November 8th. Medusa 9 is taking place in the Gulf of Chania and South Peloponnese.
The exercise aims to further strengthen the co-operation of the Armed Forces of Greece, Egypt and Cyprus, the Greek General Staff said in a statement.
Greece participates with a frigate, a submarine, F-16 fighter jets and warships.
Cyprus take spart with a ship and special forces.
Egypt participates with commandos of the Egyptian Armed Forces, a helicopter carrier, one frigate and one submarine as well as with F-16 fighter jets.
Observers from Bulgaria, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Bahrain, South Korea, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and the US have been invited.
It is the second Medusa exercise in 2019.
