Greek Defense Minister: Turkey cannot be included in “Rearm Europe”

Greek Defense Minister, Nikos Dendias, said in Brussels that Turkey cannot be included in the “Rearm Europe” plan as the country threatens two EU-member states, that is Greece and Cyprus.

Arriving at the Foreign Affairs Council with EU defense ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, Dendias said with a clear hint to Turkey but without naming it:

“The rearmament of Europe should be done with countries that respect and embrace EU rules and values,” and sent a message that “countries which threaten others and do not recognize EU member-states cannot participate.”

He stressed “in this context, we must be extremely careful and Greece has repeatedly emphasized that it is necessary for countries that respect and embrace the EU framework of values to participate in this project. It is not appropriate for countries that threaten other countries, including, indeed, EU member-states, that do not recognize other countries, including, indeed, EU member-states, and do not embrace the same rules of democracy and human rights, to participate indiscriminately in the European project. They cannot defend Europe if the enemy is within its walls.”

“As always, we will discuss the issue of Ukraine, but I would like to focus much more on the effort being made with the SAFE Regulation and Rearm Europe Plan, that is, the effort to rearm Europe, so that it has the ability to defend itself, to defend an area of democracy, human rights, and human protection.”

It should be recalled that Turkey has an official “casus belli” – occasion for war – policy twards Greece, it does not recognize EU-member Cyprus and has been illegally occupying the North of the island state since 1974.

The EU Defense Ministers in Brussels are expected to discuss the current developments in Ukraine, in the presence of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and via video-conference with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.